Ology Bioservices has secured a pair of contracts worth $135.4M combined from the Department of Defense to develop a medical countermeasure against biological threats and a technology platform for producing nucleic acids.The Alachua, Fla.-based biopharmaceutical company said Monday it will explore the use of monoclonal antibodies as a potential treatment for Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague, under a contract valued at $130.3M over 10 years.
Team members for the project are the Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Battelle, Just Biotherapeutics, Mapp Biopharmaceutical, Cato Research, Certara and the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases.
Under the second contract, valued at $5.1M, Ology Bioservices will create a manufacturing technology prototype to produce plasmid DNA for potential use in genetic vaccines and gene therapy.
The 30-month agreement contains options for the company to facilitate the development of RNA manufacturing platforms.
DoD’s Platforms for Rapid Integrated Solutions for Medical Countermeasures office awarded the two contracts.
