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SRI International Launches Center of Excellence in Infectious Disease and Biodefense

Posted on: Wednesday, 18 January 2006, 09:00 CST

SRI International, an independent nonprofit research and development organization, today announced it has formed a Center of Excellence in Infectious Disease and Biodefense. The Center will create new opportunities and approaches to identifying drugs, biologics and vaccines to prevent and treat infectious diseases, including those of concern for biodefense. Rae Lyn Burke, Ph.D., has been appointed the director of the new Center. Dr. Burke joined SRI in 2002 and previously served as senior director of virology at Chiron Corporation.

The Center enhances SRI's position as a leading resource for drug and biotherapeutic discovery and preclinical development. The focused Center will attract scientific leaders, partners, projects and funding as it engages researchers from a range of scientific disciplines to accelerate drug discovery. The Center will also perform basic research on disease mechanisms and provide full-service preclinical contract research and development capabilities to partners. The Center will draw on SRI's many years of experience and success in the field of drug development for infectious diseases as exemplified by the anti-malarial halofantrine.

"SRI's tremendous depth and breadth of expertise in biotechnology is helping solve critical health issues," said SRI's Dr. Burke. "Our new Center of Excellence in Infectious Disease and Biodefense will facilitate partnerships and collaborations that lead to major breakthroughs for the toughest challenges in biotechnology. Through collaboration with other SRI research groups, the Center is working at the intersection of multiple scientific disciplines to create platforms for the next generation of drug development in areas such as drug delivery, real-time diagnostics and systems biology."

SRI is a leading provider of preclinical development services for anti-infective therapeutics and vaccines. Under National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) grants, SRI is assisting with the development of potential smallpox, HIV and ricin vaccines, as well as antibody-based therapeutics for botulinum toxin. SRI also holds several major contracts with NIAID for conducting preclinical safety and pharmacokinetic studies, formulation, clinical manufacturing, regulatory activities and in vitro microbiological screening of drugs. In addition, SRI works with other federal agencies and numerous private biotechnology companies on development of drugs for cancer prevention and therapy.

SRI currently has three drugs that are in clinical trials for cancer indications, and an additional four are undergoing preclinical evaluation. Working with government and industry partners, SRI has helped advance over 100 drugs into clinical trials and over 30 drugs onto the market.

About SRI International

Silicon Valley-based SRI International (www.sri.com) is one of the world's leading independent research and technology development organizations. Founded as Stanford Research Institute in 1946, SRI has been meeting the critical needs of clients for almost 60 years. The nonprofit research institute performs client-sponsored research and development for government agencies, commercial businesses and private foundations. In addition to conducting contract R&D, SRI licenses its technologies, forms strategic partnerships and creates spin-off companies.

Source: Business Wire

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