Oragenics wins $500K grant

The National Science Foundation has awarded Oragenics Inc. a $500,000 grant to support the development of two of its antibiotics products.

The latest grant is a continuation of the NSF's previous support of the company when it awarded Oragenics a $500,000 grant in 2008 as well.

Oragenics' work focuses on treating healthcare-associated infections, which the company's CEO David Hirsch says afflict roughly two million people a year in the United States.

“The number of people that succumb to these infections is staggering,” Hirsch said in a release. “This matching grant by the NSF will help to accelerate the development of our antibiotics program, and hopefully lead to more effective treatment for many of these life threatening infections."

Based in Tampa, Oragenics Inc. recently added two directors to its board.