Mapp Biopharmaceutical Explained

Key People:	Larry Zeitlin Kevin Whaley ^[1]
Products:	Biopharmaceuticals
Subsid:	LeafBio

Mapp Biopharmaceutical is an American pharmaceutical company founded in 2003 by Larry Zeitlin and Kevin Whaley.^[2] Mapp Biopharmaceutical is based in San Diego, California. It is responsible for the research and development of ZMapp, a drug which is still under development and comprises three humanized monoclonal antibodies used as a treatment for Ebola virus disease.^{[3] [4]} The drug was first tested in humans during the 2014 West Africa Ebola virus outbreak.

The ZMapp drug is a result of the collaboration between Mapp Biopharmaceutical, LeafBio (the commercial arm of Mapp Biopharmaceutical),^[5] Defyrus Inc. (Toronto), the U.S. government, and the Public Health Agency of Canada. The antibody work came out of research projects funded by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) more than a decade ago, and years of funding by the Public Health Agency of Canada.^[6] ZMapp is manufactured in the tobacco plant Nicotiana benthamiana in the bioproduction process known as "pharming" by Kentucky BioProcessing, a subsidiary of Reynolds American.^{[7] [8] [9]}

External links

• Website of Mapp Biopharmaceutical
• Longtime vision leads to Ebola serum (Interview with Larry Zeitlin, August 6, 2014)

Notes and References

1. News: Ebola Drug Made From Tobacco Plant Saves U.S. Aid Workers . Robert . Langreth . Caroline . Chen . James . Nash . John . Lauerman . August 4, 2014 . Bloomberg.
2. Web site: BioPharm Company Tackles "Neglected" Infectious Diseases . Small Business Innovation Research . National Institutes of Health . 20 October 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211020161448/https://sbir.nih.gov/stories/mapp-bio . 20 October 2021 . English . January 31, 2020.
3. Web site: ZMapp Information Sheet. Mapp Biopharmaceutical. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140812212046/http://www.mappbio.com/zmapinfo.pdf. 2014-08-12.
4. "Mystery Ebola virus serum manufactured by San Diego firm". Los Angeles Times. August 4, 2014.
5. Web site: LeafBio. August 12, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141008183506/http://www.leafbio.com/. October 8, 2014. dead.
6. [Helen Branswell]
7. News: David . Kroll . Forbes . 5 August 2014. Ebola 'Secret Serum': Small Biopharma, The Army, And Big Tobacco.
8. News: Lois. Parshley. Popular Science. 8 August 2014. ZMapp: The Experimental Ebola Treatment Explained.
9. News: Fran. Daniel. Winston-Salem Journal. 12 August 2014. Ebola drug provided for two Americans by Reynolds American subsidiary.