# Formulation of a prophylactic vaccine against Pseudomonas aeruginosa

> **NIH NIH R43** · HAFION, LLC · 2022 · $300,000

## Abstract

SUMMARY
 Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pa) is an important opportunistic human pathogen that causes severe infections
in patients with burns, severe wounds, pneumonia, and critically ill patients who require intubation or
catheterization. Clearing Pa is difficult due to antibiotic resistance. There are ~32,600 cases of multi-drug
resistant (MDR) Pa in hospitalized patients annually with 2700 deaths and $757 million in patient care costs.
Additionally, Pa is the major cause of pulmonary infections in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients with >70% of this
population being chronically colonized by their teens. Military personnel are gravely impacted by the occurrence
of MDR Pa in combat-related injuries. Equally important is the fact that the biggest risk factor for negative
outcomes associated with infection by MDR Pa is advanced age. After age 60, there is a significant increase in
morbidity and mortality resulting from MDR Pa infection. Thus, a broadly protective Pa vaccine has large market
potential with up to three vaccinations providing complete protection to all humans. Hundreds of millions of
vaccine doses would be given annually, approaching ~$5B in sales. While there are Pa vaccines in development,
none have been licensed. The goal of our technology is a prophylactic vaccine that prevents initial
colonization by Pa, regardless of serotype, to protect vulnerable patients, which we are targeting as
mature adults for this study, prior to biofilm formation and host adaptation. When Phase I is completed,
we will have optimized the vaccine formulation and demonstrated protective efficacy in mice and rabbit models.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10481409
- **Project number:** 1R43AI167091-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** HAFION, LLC
- **Principal Investigator:** Aaron C Nagel
- **Activity code:** R43 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $300,000
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-03-16 → 2024-02-29

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10481409

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10481409, Formulation of a prophylactic vaccine against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (1R43AI167091-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10481409. Licensed CC0.

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