Jane Edwards
VLP Therapeutics has received a $2.4 million grant from the U.S. Army to research and develop a vaccine against malaria.
The service branch awarded the research grant through the Defense Department’s Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program, the company said Thursday.
Wataru Akahata, founder and CEO of VLP Therapeutics, said the company has developed VLPM01, an experimental vaccine that works to home in on malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum during its pre-erythrocytic stage.
Akahata added the firm has started preclinical trials of the vaccine candidate.
Gaithersburg, Maryland-based VLP Therapeutics is a biotechnology firm that aims to develop vaccines and antibody therapies for infectious diseases, cancer and other conditions through its inserted alphavirus virus-like particle technology platform, i-αVLP.
