Contrafect Corp., of Yonkers, N.Y. said it was granted a $2.1 million technology/therapeutic development award through the U.S. Department of Defense peer-reviewed medical research program. It will support the development of the company's principal therapeutic candidate, CF-301, a bacteriophage-derived lysine, which is active against Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. By targeting a conserved region of the cell wall that is vital to bacteria, resistance is less likely to develop to CF-301.