NightHawk Biosciences, a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing first-in-class therapies to modulate the immune system, announced the construction of an advanced biosafety level 2 (BSL-2) laboratory, adding biodefense and infectious disease capabilities to its research facilities in Research Triangle Park, NC.
 
Jeff Wolf, NightHawk’s CEO, said, “Given the unprecedented global biological threats facing our nation, both natural and man-made, this new, state-of-the-art BSL-2 laboratory will enable us to work with select attenuated agents such as anthrax and botulinum toxins, tularemia, monkeypox and other priority DOD agents and pathogens of global concern. The buildout of this facility follows our acquisition of biodefense company Elusys Therapeutics and represents the next stage in our efforts to develop medical countermeasures to protect the population against emerging biothreats.”
 
Matthew M. Seavey, PhD, Vice President of Research of NightHawk commented, “This new BSL-2 facility is being designed to accommodate research on high-priority infectious agents. As such, we are implementing strict safety measures within this facility, including enhanced safety monitoring, independent powered air filtration units (PAPR), HEPA filtered unidirectional HVAC units, and high security restricted access for secure entry, all measures that are critical for the BSL-2 classification. In addition, we have increased our vivarium footprint, allowing us to execute and enhance data generation related to infectious disease preclinical studies, in order to evaluate the efficacy, immunogenicity, and safety of vaccines and therapeutics against bacterial and viral pathogens.”