The Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI), a Seattle-based non-profit biotech research institute, announced today a contract with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) DRIVe (Division of Research, Innovation, and Ventures) “Beyond the Needle” program to develop an intranasally delivered RNA vaccine for pandemic influenza.
Beyond the Needle funds the development of new technologies to make vaccine and therapeutic administration easier, to ultimately create globally accessible vaccines. The development of an intranasally administered flu vaccine using IDRI’s RNA vaccine platform could improve RNA vaccine protection against respiratory viruses, remove the need for the deep cold chain that makes RNA vaccines inaccessible to low-and-middle income countries (LMICs), and alleviate fears in needle-hesitant individuals. BARDA entered into a contract with IDRI for the development of an intranasal RNA vaccine platform with long-term storage stability using H5N1 influenza as an initial proof-of-concept target.
