Author Archives: Kate Hutchinson

BARDA: Immunechip+ Program Overview

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Tools that accelerate medical countermeasure screening and development are vital to improving human health – from enabling personalized medicine to responding to health security threats such as pandemics. To this end, BARDA, in partnership with the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), part of the National Institutes of Health, has launched the new ImmuneChip+ program.

We aim to partner with innovators to support the development of advanced microphysiological systems / tissue chip platforms that integrate a component of the human immune system. The objective of the program is to develop a set of set of mature ImmuneChips, combining a previously validated model of a vital human tissue (e.g. lung, heart, kidney) with an immune system component, in a single platform that can be machine-manufactured and that includes multiple in-line sensors for long-term tissue monitoring. With this program, we aim to further enhance the usability of tissue chips and position them as useful tools in the drug development process and for personalized therapeutics.

For more details, please visit BARDA DRIVe program at https://drive.hhs.gov/immunechip.html

BARDA RFI: Needle-less Delivery

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BARDA is interested in learning more about the current landscape and technologies and companies in the needle-less delivery space. The delivery platforms should be compatible with biologic payloads (e. g. vaccines, monoclonal antibodies) that utilize the following alternative routes of administration:
– Oral
– Buccal/Sublingual
– Inhalation (e. g. aerosolization)
Other platforms

Technologies NOT of interest:
– Needle-based (e.g. auto injectors)
– Microneedle systems (e. g. patches)
– Implant-based

Particular interest in plug-and-play platforms that have potential to easily allow for the use of a wide variety of vaccines or therapeutics with the platform.

If you are interested in sharing information, please contact Phuong Nguyen at phuong.t.nguyen@stonybrook.edu

New BNL Cryo-Electron Microscopy Center Open for Remote Access

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Brookhaven National Laboratory opened its new cryo-electron microscopy center, the Laboratory for BioMolecular Structure (LBMS), with an initial focus on COVID-19-related research through an open proposal call. This state-of-the-art research center offers researchers access to advanced cryo-electron microscopes (cryo-EM) for single particle analysis of proteins and macromolecular complexes, as well as cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) of cells and tissues.

LBMS currently has two cryo-electron microscopes—funded by NY State’s Empire State Development—and the facility has space for additional microscopes to enhance its capabilities in the future.

Researchers working on non-proprietary COVID-19-related studies can request remote access to the instruments free of charge by submitting a COVID-19 Rapid Access proposal. For questions regarding the LBMS facility or the call for COVID-19 Rapid Access proposals, please contact Liguo Wang at lwang1@bnl.gov.

 

7 Dx firms to share $249M from NIH for COVID-19 testing

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Seven companies were chosen by the NIH to receive funding for new technologies to boost their testing capacities and help them ramp up production of millions of coronavirus rapid tests to be made available by September 2020. A total of $248.7 million will be invested and shared by Mesa Biotech, Quidel, Talis Biomedical, Fluidigm, Ginkgo Bioworks, Helix OpCo and Mammoth Biosciences. Read more. (Via BIO Smart Brief/Reuters)

Update: NIH Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) Programs

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The RADx Tech initiative aims to speed the development, validation, and commercialization of innovative point-of-care and home-based tests, as well as improve clinical laboratory tests, that can directly detect the virus. RADx Tech will expand the Point-of-Care Technologies Research Network (POCTRN) established several years ago by NIH’s National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB).

All scientists and inventors with a rapid testing technology are invited to compete in a national “shark tank”-type COVID-19 testing challenge for a share of up to $500 million over all phases of development. The technologies will go through a highly competitive, rapid three-phase selection process to identify the best candidates for at-home or point-of-care tests for COVID-19. Finalists will be matched with technical, business, and manufacturing experts to increase the odds of success.

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. Visit program website for full details on the RADx Programs and application process. https://www.nih.gov/research-training/medical-research-initiatives/radx/radx-programs