Baruch S. Blumberg Institute

The Baruch S. Blumberg Institute, doing business as Baruch S Blumberg Institute, is a non-profit biomedical research organization dedicated to developing treatments and cures for infectious diseases, particularly hepatitis B and C, as well as various cancers. Registered as a corporate entity (tax exempt) with the federal government since 2005, the Institute has received numerous federal grants and contracts from agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Department of Defense to support its research endeavors. The Institute's work spans a wide range of activities, including drug discovery, gene editing technology development, and biospecimen handling optimization for liquid biopsy cancer detection. Through its federal awards, the Baruch S. Blumberg Institute provides specialized research and development services focused on discovering new antiviral drugs, therapies, and diagnostic tools to combat infectious diseases and cancer.

Through federal contracts, the Baruch S. Blumberg Institute has provided research and development services focused on discovering new antiviral drugs and therapies. A notable recent award is a $32,348,261 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to develop an orally available small molecule antiviral drug for treating yellow fever virus infection. This multi-year project, performed in collaboration with subcontractor Utah State University, aims to yield a new medical countermeasure against this RNA virus threat by April 2025. The Institute's expertise in executing targeted drug discovery initiatives has made it a valuable partner for agencies like NIAID and the U.S. Army Medical Command, with no set-aside designations reported for these contract awards.

The Institute has received numerous federal grants supporting its wide-ranging infectious disease and cancer research programs. Major grants have been awarded through NIH programs such as Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research and the National Cancer Institute. Recent projects include developing CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology to eliminate hepatitis B virus DNA as a potential cure, discovering new dihydroquinolizinone antivirals that selectively target the liver to reduce side effects, exploring mechanisms to enhance natural killer cell cytotoxicity toward cholangiocarcinoma, and optimizing biospecimen handling for liquid biopsy cancer detection using urine samples. The Institute has partnered with various academic centers like the University of Minnesota, Washington State University, and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center on these grant-funded research initiatives, serving as either the prime awardee or subrecipient. Additionally, the Institute has collaborated with small businesses like Microbiotix, Inc. and JBS Science Inc. on SBIR/STTR projects, providing specialized expertise in areas such as antiviral drug development and urine DNA isolation techniques.