Cerus Corporation and the University of New Mexico (UNM) received funds from National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to design a consortium for the development of a prophylactic vaccine against Francisella tularensis, the bacterium that causes the disease Tularemia.

Francisella is a potential bioterror agent against which no effective vaccine exists. The consortium, led by Dr. Rick Lyons, M.D. Ph.D. of UNM, will focus on developing a Tularemia vaccine based on Cerus' proprietary KBMA vaccine technology.

According to the company release, Cerus will receive $2.8 million over three years, of the $23 million research and development contract from NIAID, a division of the National Institutes of Health. Other members of the consortium include Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, Arizona State University, and the University of Texas, San Antonio.

KBMA vaccines consist of killed, but metabolically active bacteria that offer the potential to combine the efficacy of live vaccines with the safety of killed vaccines. KBMA technology can be applied whenever a metabolically active, but non-replicating microorganism is a safer alternative to a conventional live vaccine, such as in biodefence applications, informs the release.

Tularemia, also known as rabbit fever, is a disease caused by the bacterium Francisella that is typically carried by rodents and rabbits. People can become infected through the bite of insects, which harbour the bacterium, by handling sick animals, by eating or drinking contaminated food, or by inhaling airborne bacteria.