Advanced BioNutrition (ABN) and VGX Pharmaceuticals receive $1.7m and $1.9m respectively from the US Department of Defense through the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA).
ABN's contract involves the development of a novel shrimp-based production system for vaccines and monoclonal antibodies.
In the first phase, the company receives $1.7m. In total, the company would receive $5.9m for successful completion of the three-phase, 42-month contract.
"This funding will allow ABN to accelerate the development of a radically new approach to the production of biopharmaceuticals which, in the case of emergency, could also be rapidly deployed for the production of life saving medical countermeasures in a very short time," ABN chief executive and chairman William Kirk said in a statement.
In the first phase of the contract, the company will validate the use of crustaceans as biofactories for the production of vaccines and other therapeutic proteins using its proprietary transfection technology.
ABN is also developing a high-density GMP-capable production system for shrimp cultivation as well as methods for extracting the final product.
The goal of the contract is to demonstrate the shrimp-based system has the capability of producing three million doses of vaccine or immunological-based therapeutic within 12 weeks of the first recognition of a new pathogen.
Meanwhile, the VGX 12-month contract involves the development of the company's constant current electroporation technology for intradermal delivery of DNA vaccines and therapeutics.
Under the contract, VGX will demonstrate in vivo efficacy of novel vaccines derived from DNA plasmid-based pox virus antigens delivered using a skin micro-electroporation system.
"This contract demonstrates the US Government's support of in vivo electroporation for the delivery of DNA vaccines as a defense against bioterrorism, and further encourages the development of the skin micro-electroporation platform for our pipeline," VGX president and chief executive Dr J. Joseph Kim said in a statement.
"We are excited to be awarded this contract to further validate the skin-delivery system for immunogenicity and efficacy in a pathogen of particular interest to the DTRA and set the platform for delivery of other vaccines in the biodefense program."
The company is currently developing its electroporation technology Cellectra as a device to deliver DNA vaccines and therapeutic proteins both via intradermal and intramuscular routes.
The device is portable, water-proof, shock-proof, battery operated and software driven.
Neither VGX nor ABN was available for comment.