AAHI lands $18M award from the NIH
Access to Advanced Health Institute, a biotech nonprofit based in Seattle, received an $18 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. The funding will support AAHI’s goal of creating the first chikungunya virus vaccine.
The virus is transmitted through infected mosquitos and is a common cause of death in Latin America, Africa and Asia. High rates of infection have caused chikungunya cases to flood hospitals and healthcare systems in the areas.
The NIH funding follows a grant of $26 million that AAHI received in 2022 from the Chan Soon-Shiong Family Foundation. The donation was intended for AAHI’s other vaccine efforts, which include cures for COVID-19 variants, tuberculosis, HIV, hepatitis C and malaria.