The Department of Defense (DOD), through the Joint Science and Technology Office of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), has awarded Ology Bioservices Inc. with three biomanufacturing contracts with a combined value of more than $16 million.

In the first program, valued at $8.5 million, Ology Bioservices will manufacture a conjugated vaccine candidate comprising the conserved protein from the bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei and the adjuvant CPS-CRM-197. The vaccine candidate, developed at the University of Nevada, Reno, will be tested in a Phase 1 clinical trial and is being developed to prevent the disease melloidosis.

In the second program, valued at $4.6 million, Ology Bioservices will manufacture outer membrane vesicles from Burkholderia mallei as a potential vaccine against the bacterial disease glanders. The vaccine candidate was developed at Tulane University. The material produced in this program will support a Phase 1 clinical trial.

In the third program, valued at $3.2 million, Ology Bioservices will manufacture a DNA vaccine against Venezuelan equine encephalitis to support a Phase 1 clinical trial. The vaccine was developed at the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases.

“We are pleased to be working with DTRA on these important programs,” said Peter H. Khoury, president and CEO at Ology Bioservices. “The diverse biomanufacturing technologies employed in these three programs clearly demonstrate the capabilities of our team at Ology Bioservices and the functionality of the Advanced Development and Manufacturing Facility.”