Gov. Tom wolf announced that 23 awardees, including Bucks County Biotechnology Center ($439,000) will receive $10 million in grant funding through the COVID-19 Vaccines, Treatments and Therapies program to support the rapid advancement of vaccines, treatments and therapies by qualified biotechnology entities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Biotechnology Center in Doylestown will convert an underused “warehouse” grade space in its Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center complex into useful research and training space that will accelerate the pace of development of projects dealing with COVID-19 and related work. The 6,000-square-foot space will be used by several biotechnology companies, research projects and trainees who will work on new therapeutics and diagnostics discovery science, as well as human phlebotomy for COVID-19.
“We know that the only way we can get back to our normal lives is by developing a robust testing and tracing infrastructure combined with effective, safe and affordable treatments and vaccines,” said Wolf. “The funding awarded today will jumpstart a number of promising projects that would help Pennsylvania overcome this devastating global pandemic, setting us on a path to recovery and protection both now and in the future.”
Of the 23 projects, $6.8 million was awarded to 12 vaccine projects, nearly $1.2 million was awarded to five therapy projects, nearly $1.6 million was awarded to five treatment projects, and $430,000 was awarded to a project that will support the build out of physical infrastructure, advancing the development of leading edge innovations in the fight against SARS-CoV-2.
Projects awarded funding include those that will study the use of cancer medications on COVID-19 patients; the development of a research and training space to accelerate the pace of COVID-19 treatment development; the acceleration of vaccine development efforts; and the development of a protective antibody for at-risk individuals, including the elderly, among other innovative and promising new ideas.
The full list of grant recipients can be found here.
The program, announced last month, was made available to Pennsylvania-based entities that demonstrate both a financial need and a well-defined pathway to the accelerated commercialization of a new vaccine, treatment or therapy in direct response to fight against COVID-19.
Funding for the program was appropriated from the Act 2A of 2020, known as the COVID-19 Emergency Supplement to the General Appropriation Act of 2019, to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, to be administered through a Notice of Subgrant by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development’s Office of Technology and Innovation.
