FluGen has been awarded an $11.4 million grant from the United States Department of Defense to conduct a safety and immunogenicity study of the influenza vaccine (M2SR, the company announced today.

“We are extremely please to have been awarded funding from the Department of Defense to conduct this important study and further evaluate the ability of M2SR to address virus drift in a highly vulnerable patient population,” FluGen CEO Paul Radspinner said in a statement.

According to a release, the study will compare an H3N2 flu vaccine candidate to a licensed quadrivalent vaccine that is considered the current standard of care for adults ages 65 and above.

The study will start in the second quarter of 2022.