Provita, a company staffed entirely by kids under 18, is working on a project (with funding from the Gates Foundation) to use mosquitoes to help carry important vaccines.
Joshua Meier, CEO of biotechnology company Provita Pharmaceuticals, spends about 20 hours a week on research projects in the various labs at his disposal. In January, the company gave a presentation to the FDA on its work with the flying syringe, a tool that uses mosquitoes as a vector to deliver vaccines to those who need them. Provita has also submitted a grant idea to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. But you might not recognize Meier as a CEO if you saw him walking down the street–he’s 16. In fact, everyone on the 15-plus person Provita team, from research and development workers to finance officers, is in high school.
Provita was founded in 2008, before Meier–a junior and a finalist in the 2012 Google Science Fair–entered high school at the Bergen County Academies, a group of seven magnet high school programs that each hone in on different subjects, including a program focused on science and technology (where Meier is a student), a business and finance program, and a medical science and technology program. Provita emerged when some of the science-focused kids decided to collaborate with the business-minded students on a business plan competition for their research.
The company’s first product, Coagula, aims to decrease the number of injections that patients with hemophilia and von Willebrand disease have to endure. “Hemopheliacs have uncontrolled bleeding, and they to have to take coagulants to make their blood thicker. The problem with treatment is that they have to take it several time a week, and there are issues of infection and having transfusions all the time,” explains Meier. “We came up with new method, so instead of taking treatment a few times a week, you do it once every few months. We’re still working on that.”
The Provita team certainly has enough equipment at its disposal, including a stem cell lab and a microbiology lab at the school. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City has even indicated interest in helping with future development.
More recently, Provita has started working on the flying syringe. That project is still in the very early stages. “We can’t really culture mosquitoes in the lab at our high school because that’s dangerous, but we a have research advisor and ideas planned out, and the next step is making a partnership, contacting other places that do have animal facilities,” says Meier.
The first goal: to genetically engineer mosquitoes so that they can produce and deliver a vaccine (via their saliva) for West Nile Virus. The mosquitoes, Meier explains, will be sterilized to prevent any out-of-control problems. It’s a new twist on research being done elsewhere to breed sterile mosquitoes in malaria-infested areas.
The Latest Bing News on:
West Nile Virus
- Health department begins West Nile and tick surveillance programson May 10, 2024 at 2:15 pm
After a fairly mild winter, the Vermilion County Health Department is urging residents to protect themselves from mosquito and tick-borne illnesses.
- ‘Pregnant women should get tested for rubella virus’on May 9, 2024 at 4:28 pm
“If pregnant mothers get infected with rubella virus, it will affect the foetus. That is why we collect samples from symptomatic pregnant mothers for testing. West Nile virus infected patient dies in Thrissur First state West Nile virus death: 79-year ...
The Latest Google Headlines on:
West Nile Virus
[google_news title=”” keyword=”West Nile Virus” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
The Latest Bing News on:
West Nile Virus vaccine
- West Nile fever cases detected in Kerala: What is the disease, how can it be prevented?on May 9, 2024 at 11:39 pm
One person died of the West Nile fever on Monday and six other cases have been reported in recent days. Here’s what you need to know about the disease, how it spreads, its symptoms, treatment and ...
- Agencies join forces to manage mosquito season in Kernon May 9, 2024 at 5:31 pm
Mosquito control districts are working to prevent West Nile Virus and St. Louis Encephalitis, but their best line of defense is, you.
- West Nile Virus Detected In Coachella Valley For First Time This Yearon May 9, 2024 at 3:17 pm
The Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District is now increasing its control efforts to interrupt further WNV transmission.
- Kerala Health department issues alert after West Nile fever cases riseon May 9, 2024 at 3:12 am
Kerala health minister Veena George said the disease was reported in Malappuram, Kozhikode and Thrissur districts ...
- West Nile Fever Causes, Symptoms and Treatmenton May 9, 2024 at 12:05 am
Hyderabad: Kerala is on alert after West Nile Fever cases were reported in Kozhikode, Malappuram and Thrissur districts.Nine cases were reported in which one person succumbed to the disease ...
- West Nile Virus Detected In Kerala, 3 Districts On High Alert: Here's All You Need To Know About This Diseaseon May 8, 2024 at 6:11 am
Three districts in Kerala, Thrissur, Malappuram and Kozhikode have been alerted regarding West Nile Virus and the government is already taking measures to curb further spread. TheHealthSite.com ...
- Cases of West Nile Fever reported in Kerala—Read on to know all about its causes, symptoms and treatmenton May 8, 2024 at 3:57 am
Multiple cases of West Nile Fever have been reported in Kerala. The state health department has sounded an alert in the districts of Thrissur, Malappuram and Kozhikode after the cases of the ...
- Quicksplained: Kerala on alert for West Nile fever. What are its symptoms?on May 8, 2024 at 1:54 am
Multiple cases of West Nile fever were detected in Kozhikode, Malappuram, and Thrissur districts. What is this dengue-like illness making a resurgence in the southern state?
- West Nile fever is spreading rapidly in Kerala, is this also caused by mosquito bites? These are its symptomson May 8, 2024 at 12:31 am
West Nile fever is a viral infection transmitted primarily by mosquitoes. The virus belongs to the Flavivirus genus and is typically spread ..|News Track ...
- West Nile Virus Vaccineon January 15, 2024 at 5:30 pm
West Nile virus (WNV), first identified in Africa in the 1930’s is ... The National School of Tropical Medicine has now begun the development of a therapeutic WNV vaccine and is collaborating with ...
The Latest Google Headlines on:
West Nile Virus vaccine
[google_news title=”” keyword=”West Nile Virus vaccine” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]