January 22, 2021 -- Vaxess Technologies has been awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and a subcontract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), a branch of the U.S. Department of Defense, totaling $2 million if all milestones are achieved.
The firm plans to use the funds to integrate messenger RNA (mRNA)-based vaccines and gene modulators provided through a partnership with the Santangelo Lab at Georgia Tech, it said.
Specifically, Vaxess is working on vaccines and other medical countermeasures that don't require refrigeration and instead use its Silk Protein Matrix stabilization technology. The vaccines will be single dose -- enabled by the firm's Mimix sustained release formula -- and applied via a skin patch.