MappBio Announces Contract with BARDA for MBP091 as a pan-Marburg Medical Countermeasure

SAN DIEGO - June 11, 2019 - PRLog -- Mapp Biopharmaceutical, Inc. (MappBio), announced today that it has been awarded an advanced research and development contract for $16.5 million with options for an additional $30.0 million by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to advance MBP091 though the completion of a Phase 1 clinical trial.

MBP091 is a single human monoclonal antibody (mAb) that is being developed as a pan-Marburg virus therapeutic for the treatment of hemorrhagic fevers caused by Marburg and the closely related Ravn virus.  The mAb was isolated in the laboratory of Dr. James Crowe at Vanderbilt University Medical Center from a survivor or Marburg virus infection and subsequently licensed by Mapp.  MBP091 has been evaluated in numerous preclinical experiments and has demonstrated the ability to neutralize Marburg virus in vitro and protect from lethal challenge of Marburg in vivo.

Marburg virus is a member of the filovirus family and causes a hemorrhagic fever similar to that caused by Ebola.  First identified in 1967, Marburg virus has caused numerous outbreaks, even as recently as 2017 in Uganda, with relatively high mortality rates.  "The award of this contract by BARDA will allow Mapp to advance the development of MBP091 to first in human evaluation with the ultimate goal of making this medical countermeasure available to victims of Marburg virus," said Dr. Ronald Aimes, Vice President of Nonclinical Development at Mapp and the Principal Investigator on this contract.

"We are pleased to continue and expand our productive relationship with BARDA, which represents a good example of a public-private partnership that advances much needed therapeutics for infected individuals and the Strategic National Stockpile," said Dr. Kevin J. Whaley, Chief Executive Officer.

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About Mapp Biopharmaceutical: Mapp Biopharmaceutical was founded in 2003 to develop novel pharmaceuticals for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, focusing on unmet needs in global health and biodefense. www.mappbio.com

This project has been funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the Department of Health and Human Services; Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response; Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, under Contract Nos. HHSO100201900018C and HHSO100201700023C, a National Institute of Health grant No. 2SB1 AI082744 and Medical CBRN Defense Consortium Base Agreement 2018-843 under OTA W15QKN-16-9-1002.