Vybion receives $1.3M subcontract to develop diagnostics for Lassa Virus

Vybion has received a $1.3M subcontract on at $7.1M NIH Cooperative Agreement to develop diagnostics for Lassa Virus, a deadly hemorrhagic virus endemic in West Africa. Researchers at Tulane University, in collaboration with Corgenix Medical Corporation, a worldwide developer and marketer of diagnostic test kits, have received a five-year $7.07 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for continued development of detection kits for Lassa viral hemorrhagic fever, a serious disease spread by contact with infected rodents. Viral hemorrhagic fevers are characterized by fever and bleeding disorders and can progress to high fever and shock. Lassa fever is estimated to infect 300,000 to 500,000 people per year across West Africa, resulting in approximately 5,000 deaths.

This is the second grant awarded to Tulane for Lassa virus products. Also collaborating with Corgenix and Tulane in this grant are Autoimmune Technologies, LLC ( New Orleans), Vybion, Inc. (Ithaca, NY), and various partners in West Africa.