Tiba Biotech LLC, a Cambridge-based preclinical biopharmaceutical company, has partnered with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through initiation of an EZ-BAA contract to develop groundbreaking therapeutics against influenza.

The $749,999 contract, awarded through a highly competitive review process, supports early-stage therapeutic platform development for the Flexible and Strategic Therapeutics (FASTx) program of BARDA. This initiative aims to advance cutting-edge therapeutic platform technologies, such as RNA-mediated interference (RNAi), which could be rapidly deployed in response to emerging viral threats.

Tiba Biotech’s initial focus will be on developing a prototype RNAi-based therapeutic for H1N1 influenza that targets the highly conserved viral nucleoprotein and will be delivered via Tiba’s RNABL platform.

“We are excited to receive this BARDA award, which will advance Tiba’s innovative approach to combating influenza and other viral threats,” said Dr. Jasdave Chahal, co-founder and lead investigator of the project. “We believe our technology has the potential to transform the landscape of RNA therapeutics.”

This initiative is an extension of Tiba’s ongoing work combating influenza pandemic threats, most notably in the form of a novel multi-antigen mRNA-based H7N9 flu vaccine funded under a Phase II SBIR award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and ongoing collaborations with the Collaborative Influenza Vaccine Innovation Centers (CIVICs).

This project is being supported in whole with federal funds from the Department of Health and Human Services; Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response; Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), under contract number 75A50124C00014.