Canada Signs Agreement With U.K. and U.S. on Plague Vaccine Development Project

News Release

OTTAWA -- The Department of National Defence (DND) has signed an agreement with the U.K. Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to collaborate in the development of an improved Plague Vaccine. The project will develop and deliver an initial stockpile of a new plague vaccine aimed at protecting members of the Canadian Forces when operating in biological warfare environments. This plague vaccine arrangement was negotiated as a tri-national collaborative effort under a chemical-biological-radiological (CBR) defence agreement between Canada, the U.K. and the U.S. "The Plague Vaccine Project Arrangement is an excellent example of international cooperation among our three allied nations on matters of domestic and international security," said Defence Minister Bill Graham. "This collaborative effort will provide medical countermeasures that will enable us to provide greater health protection for Canadian Forces members." The aim of the Recombinant Plague Vaccine Project is to develop and license a vaccine that induces the production of antibodies to provide protection against the pneumonic form of the plague in humans. The vaccine, which has been developed in the initial stages by the U.K., will be a recombinant (i.e. genetically engineered) vaccine delivered by injection. The tri-national collaborative effort will involve the generation, collection, and submission of data to the regulatory agencies in Canada, the U.K. and the U.S. DND's developmental responsibilities will ensure that unique national defence operational and regulatory requirements are achieved through the tri-national program. Quantities of the vaccine produced as part of the development process will be used in clinical trials in the U.K. and North America and will also be available as initial military stockpiles. Since the intent is to license the product in all three countries, the tri-lateral collaborative effort to develop the plague vaccine represents an important step towards interoperability in protection against biological warfare threats. For more info: http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/newsroom/view_news_e.asp?id=1641 -30-

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National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces Military Health and Safety

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2016-12-15

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Canada Signs Agreement With U.K. and U.S. on Plague Vaccine Development Project

News Release

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