n the midst of last summer’s Ebola outbreak, John Eldridge, chief scientific officer—vaccines at Profectus BioSciences in Tarrytown, become one of the only scientists in the world to successfully create and test an Ebola vaccine on monkeys.
“Building on basic research performed by others, we have created a proprietary vaccine platform which is being used to vaccinate against many viruses, including Ebola.” Eldridge reveals that this vaccine is currently being fast-tracked for approval—a joint effort by the National Institutes of Health, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, and the Department of Defense’s Joint Vaccine Acquisition Program.
As for the secret to his innovations, Eldridge gives us this glimpse: “Within the realm of infectious diseases, innovation requires experience in basic science to know what will likely work, and experience in later-stage development to know how to make it,” he says. “In my opinion, the real innovation takes place at the interface between these two disciplines.”
