Inhibitex received the award based upon competitive review against a number of rigorous scientific and business criteria as judged by prominent scientific researchers, physicians and leaders in public affairs.
Staphylococcal organisms are the leading cause of nosocomial infections.
These proteins mediate the adherence of bacteria to host tissues, the critical first step in the initiation of most infections. More than half of the nosocomial infections that occur in the United States result from S. aureus and S. epidermidis . The Small Business Innovation Research Program, a set-aside program under the direction of the National Institutes of Health, supports innovative research conducted by small business concerns that are judged to have scientific and technical merit, as well as commercial potential. Applications are competitively evaluated against rigorous criteria and reviewed by the Center for Scientific Review and by the National Advisory Councils or Boards of the relevant institutions to which the grant application is assigned. Inhibitex's lead product candidate, a polyclonal antibody derived from a selected subset of human plasma donors, is in the late preclinical phase.