Swiss biopharma AmVac has won two grants—worth €6 million (about $7.9 million) and €5.5 million (about $7.3 million) over five years—funded under the European Commision’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) for the development of vaccines targeting flu and leishmaniasis, the firm said. AmVac will work jointly with other companies and European research institutes on these vaccine development projects. The firms involved may match up to 25% of funds provided through FP7, the company added.
The first grant will fund a project that aims to develop flu vaccines that can be used over several years, AmVac said. These will be based on antigens that are well conserved across the strains and largely stable over time.
The second prize will support the development of a vaccine for leishmaniasis, an infectious disease transmitted by certain species of sand fly.
Both vaccine projects are expected to complete Phase I clinical trials within the five-year funding period, the company added.
In addition to development activities, AmVac said it will be supporting the establishment of GMP vaccine manufacturing for both projects, as well as preclinical testing for the latter initiative.
