09:03 AM EDT, 10/03/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Grifols's ( GRFS ) subsidiary GigaGen said Thursday it was awarded a contract worth up to $135.2 million from the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority to develop a recombinant polyclonal antibody therapy for botulinum neurotoxins, or BoNT, and another biothreat to be determined later.

The company said the contract begins with an initial commitment of $19.6 million and will support drug manufacturing and phase 1 trials of both programs over six years, with the potential BoNT therapy targeting all seven variants.

GigaGen said the BARDA contract builds upon its Department of Defense contract for its recombinant human polyclonal antibody discovery platform against biological threats, focusing on two BoNT variants.

BoNT is a toxic biological substance that can cause progressive muscle paralysis.

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