KBI Biopharma, Inc. (KBI), a JSR Life Sciences company, today announced it entered into a subcontract with Mapp Biopharmaceutical, Inc. (Mapp) for the continued development and manufacturing of MBP134, an experimental combination monoclonal antibody treatment for Sudan ebolavirus (SUDV)*.

“Future outbreaks of Ebola virus disease are inevitable, but providing access to a therapeutic candidate that could treat multiple virus species will dramatically impact treatment potency. KBI is proud to support Mapp’s important development of MBP134.”

With the recent outbreak in Uganda, Mapp was contracted by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to develop emergency doses of MBP134 to address this critical medical need. Currently, there are no FDA-approved medical countermeasures available for SUDV. KBI is playing an important role in supporting Mapp’s efforts by providing expedited product development support including analytical and manufacturing contributions across multiple global sites.

“SUDV is an urgent health crisis, and KBI is pleased to subcontract with Mapp, expediting the availability of MBP134 to make an impact,” said Dr. Abdelaziz Toumi, Chief Business Officer of KBI Biopharma and Selexis SA. “The technical expertise of our scientists, technicians, analysts, and engineers allows for the development of sophisticated workflows that save precious time and resources. We are proud to be able to quickly mobilize our cross-continental teams to address this public health crisis.”

In September 2022, public health authorities in the Republic of Uganda declared an outbreak of Ebola disease caused by SUDV. According to the World Health Organization, there were 142 confirmed cases and 55 deaths as of December 5, 2022. Currently, there is no cure for Sudan ebolavirus virus disease, which has a fatality rate of around 50%.

While there is no widely available cure, promising therapeutic options such as MBP134 are in development. MBP134 is a two-antibody therapeutic candidate with demonstrated pan-ebolavirus efficacy in non-clinical studies. Alternative therapeutic approaches are often restricted to a single member of the Ebolavirus genus. In contrast, MBP134 confers unprecedented protection against antigenically diverse ebolaviruses at a single dosage.

Abdel added, “Future outbreaks of Ebola virus disease are inevitable, but providing access to a therapeutic candidate that could treat multiple virus species will dramatically impact treatment potency. KBI is proud to support Mapp’s important development of MBP134.”