$49 Million Funds Monoclonal Antibody Targeting Plague

Germany-based Evotec SE recently announced that the U.S. Department of Defense ("DOD") had awarded a contract valued up to $ 49.9 m for the rapid development of monoclonal antibody ("mAb")-based drug prototypes targeting plague.

Plague, an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis ("Y. pestis"), is one of the designated targets of interest under the DOD's Accelerated Antibodies Program.

The contract was awarded by the Joint Project Lead for CBRND Enabling Biotechnologies (JPL CBRND-EB) on September 20, 2022, to Evotec's Seattle-based subsidiary, Just – Evotec Biologics, Inc., whose platform is well-suited for mAbs development, as well as other protein modalities, such as Fc fusion proteins.

The rapid, cost-efficient development of mAb product prototypes is intended to yield an accelerated supply of safe and efficacious mAb medical countermeasures against plague.

Mr. Bruce Goodwin, DOD Joint Project Lead for CBRND Enabling Biotechnologies, commented in a related press release, "JPEO-CBRND-EB is pleased to work with Just/Evotec on this innovative and significant program to protect the Warfighter."

"Just/Evotec brings a unique approach, a robust toolset, and deep expertise to address a challenging threat in a highly accelerated time frame."

Over 80% of United States plague cases have been the bubonic form, says the U.S. CDC.

The last urban plague epidemic in the United States occurred in Los Angeles in 1924.

Plague then spread from urban rats to rural rodent species and became entrenched in many areas of the western United States.

In recent decades, an average of seven human plague cases have been reported each year.