University of Michigan Medical School Receives $5.9 Million for Anthrax Research

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has awarded $5.9 million to the University of Michigan Medical School for research on a new anthrax vaccine, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, Dec. 1).

The school was chosen as one of seven federally funded Biodefense Proteomics Research Centers. Researchers hope to develop a vaccine that costs less and requires fewer inoculations than the existing treatment, which consists of six injections over 18 months and yearly maintenance shots that cost $100 each, AP reported.

Much remains unknown about anthrax, said Philip Hanna, center co-director and an assistant professor of microbiology and immunology.

“People die very rapidly, sometimes within days of showing the first symptoms,” Hanna told The Ann Arbor News. “We don’t understand what makes it such an efficient pathogen.”

Michigan researchers are developing the first comprehensive inventory of the genes and proteins active in the bacterium during the stages of infection, according to AP.

“How (the pathogen) evades the immune system is still a big mystery,” Hanna said (Associated Press/Detroit Free Press, Dec. 1).

Back to top
About Newswire  |  Contact National Journal  |  Re-Use Guidelines © Copyright 2008 by National Journal Group, Inc. The material in this section is produced independently for NTI by National Journal Group, Inc. Any reproduction or retransmission, in whole or in part, is a violation of federal law and is strictly prohibited without the consent of the National Journal Group, Inc. All rights reserved.