ABL News

ABL Inc. Awarded the NIH Contract for NHP Core Quantitative Viral RNA Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine Research and Development

  • March 30, 2011

Rockville, MD (March 30, 2011) – Advanced BioScience Laboratories, Inc. (ABL, Inc) was awarded the National Institutes of Health (NIH) contract for Nonhuman Primate (NHP) Core Quantitative Viral RNA Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine Research and Development in the amount of $6,892,113. ABL, Inc had been the incumbent for this contract since September 2002.

The purpose of the contract is to perform quantitative viral RNA measurements in support of studies that evaluate prototype AIDS vaccines in NHPs. The RNA quantitation assay is performed based on patented NASBA technology, and Ms. Eun Mi Lee, one of the co-PIs for the contract, contributed greatly to developing the assay. The contract will also support the improvement and development of assays designed to measure viral RNA loads in NHPs infected with HIV, SIV or SHIV in studies conducted by DAIDS Simian Vaccine Evaluation Unit contract sites or by other NIH-supported investigators. Dr. Ranajit Pal is the Principal Investigator for this contract. ABL, Inc will use state-of the-art technologies to accomplish the contract objectives and incorporate new and improved technologies into contract activities.

About ABL

ABL, Inc. is a Maryland biomedical contract research organization dedicated to advancing vaccine, microbicide, and therapeutic research. Through decades of experience in virological research, ABL has made major contributions to HIV vaccine research, developing the methods and technology to now allow ABL to broaden its capabilities into research and vaccine development for a wide array of infectious diseases. ABL has extensive experience working with diverse organizations, including various government and commercial entities, and has expertise in discovery and preclinical research and development of biopharmaceuticals. Since 2001 ABL has been a part of the Institut Merieux, a group of four companies dedicated to developing translational science for better patient care globally. Notable services include basic research, product design, process and assay development, preclinical in vivo models (including immunomonitoring), and Phase I/II cGMP biologics manufacturing.

To find out more information about ABL Inc., please visit our website at www.ablinc.com.

About NIAID

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) conducts and supports research—at NIH, throughout the United States, and worldwide—to study the causes of infectious and immune-mediated diseases, and to develop better means of preventing, diagnosing and treating these illnesses. News releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID Web site at www.niaid.nih.gov.