Paragon Bioservices has been awarded the JVAP-CBMS contract from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to develop and manufacture the “VEE Replicon Particle Trivalent Filovirus Vaccine."

Paragon will develop a large-scale mammalian process suitable for cGMP manufacturing. Paragon will receive approximately $15 million, with a future optional CLINs that, if exercised, will more than double that amount.

This contract is being performed in parallel to a contract Paragon formed with the U.S. Army in October 2012, which involves process development and scale-up production to support the efficacy and potency of filovirus vaccine candidates against deadly Ebola and Marburg viruses.

Currently, there are no licensed vaccines or treatments against filoviruses, even though they are a potential agent of bioterrorism due to a 90% fatality rate in humans.