Paragon Bioservices Awarded $4.99 Million U.S. Army Contract to Assist with Ebola Vaccine Development

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Oct 21, 2010, 10:17 ET

BALTIMORE, Oct. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Paragon Bioservices, a Baltimore-based CMO focused on the contract research, process development and manufacturing of biologics, announced today that it has been awarded a $4.99 million contract to assist the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) in its vaccine development efforts.

The USAMRIID project involves process development and scale-up production of VLP-type vaccines against Ebola Zaire, Ebola Sudan, and Marburg viruses to support ongoing preclinical evaluation of efficacy, potency, and safety of these Filovirus vaccine candidates. Utilizing their 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 percent fatality rate in humans. Currently, there are no vaccines or therapies available for these viruses. They are commonly 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, since both are also infectious by aerosol.

Marco Chacon, Ph.D., CEO of Paragon Bioservices, commented, "As a scientist and a business man, it is extremely rewarding to be part of an effort that may improve public health, as well as enhance national preparedness. Preventing the spread of Ebola and Marburg viruses is crucial to containing outbreaks and saving lives."

About Paragon Bioservices

Paragon Bioservices is a CMO focused on providing contract research, process development services and GMP manufacturing of biologics for Phase I/II clinical trials. For more information about Paragon Bioservices, please visit www.paragonbioservices.com.

About USAMRIID

USAMRIID, a division of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, plays a key role in both national defense and infectious disease research. They are the lead medical research laboratory for the Department of Defense and the Biological Defense Research Program. Their mission is essentially to conduct basic research on biological threats and to develop appropriate medical solutions—such as vaccines, drugs and diagnostics.