Rockville-based Advanced Bioscience Laboratories, Inc. was awarded a federal contract worth up to $318 million for an HIV vaccine development project.
ABL, Inc. is a global preclinical research and drug manufacturer dedicated to advancing therapeutics, vaccines, and other biologic products. The principal goal of this contract is to accelerate promising HIV prophylactic modalities into the clinic. The international spread of HIV continues at a rate of more than 14,000 new infections every day. AIDS remains the fourth leading cause of death globally according to the World Health Organization. The company is among greater Washington's top 20 largest bioscience employers with 135 metro-area employees and 200 total employees. It is located in the Shady Grove area in a 74,000-square-foot headquarters at 9800 Medical Center Drive. [caption id="attachment_3114" align="aligncenter" width="750"]
Advanced BioScience Laboratories Inc. CEO Thomas VanCott (Joanne S. Lawton/Washington Business Journal)[/caption]
After winning a contract re-competition, Advanced BioScience Laboratories, Inc. will continue its work on developing an HIV vaccine for the National Institutes of Health. The new contract is with NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease.
We look forward to continuing our partnership with Division of Aids (DAIDS) on this contract, developing and testing promising HIV vaccines,” said Dr. Thomas VanCott, ABL’s President and CEO and Principal Investigator on the contract.
Scientists at ABL have been involved in the evaluation of antiviral agents directed toward HIV for more than 30 years. ABL was also involved in initial testing of AZT and the identification of several compounds with potential anti-HIV-1 activity.
ABL’s Director of Government Contract Research, Dr. Ranajit Pal, has been researching HIV prevention strategies for several decades and has played an integral role in the microbicide development taking place at ABL.We are pleased to bring together our scientific core, internal research and network of experts to continue working with DAIDS on this important line of defense against the HIV pandemic,” Pal said.The contract will run for a total of seven years.
