Paragon Bioservices Awarded $4.99 Million US Army Contract to Assist with Ebola Vaccine Development

Paragon Bioservices, a Baltimore-based CMO focused on the contract research, process development, and manufacturing of biologics, has been awarded a $4.99 million contract to assist the US Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) in its vaccine development efforts.

The USAMRIID project involves process development and scale-up production of virus-like particle (VLP) vaccines against Ebola Zaire, Ebola Sudan, and Marburg viruses to support ongoing preclinical evaluation of efficacy, potency, and safety of these Filovirus vaccine candidates. Using its extensive VLP production and purification expertise, Paragon will develop a large-scale mammalian process suitable for future GMP manufacturing.

Ebola and Marburg viruses are a serious global health threat. They cause hemorrhagic fever and have up to a 90% fatality rate in humans. Currently, there are no vaccines or therapies available for these viruses. They commonly are spread through blood and bodily fluids of infected patients who frequently succumb to hypovolemic shock. Both viruses are potential agents of biological warfare or terrorism because both also are infectious by aerosol.