Two companies made the top-five list in an area mostly dominated by institutes.

In terms of grants awarded, a number of research institutes found hefty carrots dangling in front of them in the last quarter of 2006. Yet, the recipient of the highest grant was a biotech company. Here’s a look at the top five.


PharmAthene received a $213-million award from the DoD U.S. Army Space and Missile Command to further its chemical nerve agent prophylaxis, Protexia. The government retained the option to fund additional development if the Phase I study is successful, and the DoD stands to procure an initial 90,000 doses of Protexia.


The Broad Institute was awarded nearly $200 million over four years from the NHGRI related to large-scale DNA sequencing for biomedicine. Over the next four years, the grant will fund a range of projects, including but not limited to understanding the genetic basis of cancer, dissecting the regulation of the human genome, increasing throughput and decreasing costs of DNA sequencing technologies, and undertaking comparative studies.


Charles River Laboratories was given a 10-year, $111.6-million contract by the NCI. This more than doubles the size of its 12-year collaboration with the NCI. Charles River will now convert its onsite staffing support to NCI’s Frederick Cancer Research and Development Center into a long-term dedicated space agreement.


The Genome Sequencing Center was awarded a $156-million, four-year grant. This Center at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis will use the NHGRI money to aid in DNA sequencing to unlock the secrets of cancer and other human diseases.


Ludwig Cancer presented six U.S. institutions $20 million in cash each plus stock in a New York real estate holding company to create Ludwig Centers. With continued funding over the next six years, these centers are set up to receive annual research grants of approximately $2 million in perpetuity. The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Harvard Medical School, Johns Hopkins University Kimmel Cancer Center, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, MIT, Stanford University, and The University of Chicago form the core of each of the new establishments.


 

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