Integral Molecular Wins $8 Million NIAID Contract to Combat Emerging Viruses

Integral Molecular, a company developing vaccines and therapeutics, announced a five-year, $8 million contract National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health.

The financing is used to support the Company's ongoing research into emerging viruses that are considered potential pandemic threats.

This is the fourth similar order the company has received in 15 years. Previous contracts enabled responses to viral outbreaks such as SARS-CoV-2, Zika, Ebola, dengue and chikungunya.

Integral Molecular will use its mapping platform to locate antibody binding sites (epitopes) on viruses to characterize immune responses to viral threats.

According to the company, this type of information can help scientists develop effective vaccines.

In addition, Integral Molecular's reporter virus particles (RVPs) are expected to play an important role in research.

In a statement, the company said the non-replicating virus particles enable safe, high-throughput neutralization studies of highly pathogenic viruses using standard laboratory facilities, and RVP's enables researchers to rapidly develop vaccines and therapeutics.

The NIAID contract will allow Integral Molecular to expand its research on potential pandemic threats, including Rift Valley fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever and enterovirus D68 viruses.

“We thank NIAID for their continued support and confidence in our capabilities,” Benjamin Doranz, CEO of Integral Molecular, said in a statement.

“Viral threats can occur quickly and without warning. This agreement allows us to contribute to pandemic preparedness by focusing on under-researched viruses that have been identified as potential threats and using our technologies to increase access to virology research for laboratories around the world.”

THE BIGGER TREND

In June, Integral Molecular received ISO 9001 certification for the quality systems and processes used in its virology offerings.

In April, Integral Molecular launched its Virus Neutralization Assay Services, enabling researchers to quickly obtain high-quality data to further develop their vaccines and therapeutic antibodies. Neutralization testing services enable diverse applications including neutralization profiling for antibodies targeting viral proteins.

In the same month, According to a study published in Nature, researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), have developed an artificial intelligence tool that uses individual tumor cells to predict whether a patient will respond to drugs used to treat cancer.

Traditional approaches to matching drugs to patients focus on bulk sequencing of tumor DNA and RNA. The new AI approach PERCEPTION leverages single-cell RNA sequencing, which provides better-resolution data to fine-tune predicted drug responses.

In 2022Ro, a direct patient care company, has entered into an agreement with the National Institute on Aging (NIA) to develop the Equitable Access to Alzheimer's Disease Clinical Trials Registry (REACT-AD).

Ro will use its telehealth platform to screen and recruit patients who are at increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease or other associated dementia to enroll in REACT-AD for possible participation in NIA-implemented and funded events to join clinical trials. The NIA, part of the NIH, was tasked with analyzing the data obtained and overseeing the publication of the research results from REACT-AD.