The maker of the experimental Ebola drug that was given to two infected Americans said Monday that its supply has been exhausted after the company provided doses to a West African nation.
Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc. said in a brief online statement it had complied with every request for the drug that had the necessary legal and regulatory authorization. The company said it provided the drug, called ZMapp, at no cost in all cases.
San Diego-based Mapp didn’t name any countries that requested the drug and didn’t release additional details.
In a statement Monday, the office of Liberia’s president said the U.S. planned to deliver sample doses of an “experimental serum” to Liberia later this week to treat Liberian doctors infected with Ebola.
Liberia said the shipment was in response to a request Friday sent to President Obama by Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. The statement didn’t name the drug.
ZMapp’s safety hasn’t previously been established in humans, but the drug has shown promise in monkey studies.
Last week, Mapp said it provided ZMapp to two Americans infected with Ebola in West Africa who have been taken to Atlanta for treatment. The company has said it is working with U.S. government agencies to increase production of ZMapp, which was in limited supply because the company was focused on animal testing and hadn’t planned to start human testing until next year.
Health authorities in Liberia expressed concern last week that the drug had been provided to two Americans but not to infected Liberians. Liberian officials last week said they would explore getting the experimental drug for other patients.
The Defense Threat Reduction Agency, or DTRA, an arm of the Department of Defense that develops countermeasures to weapons of mass destruction, plans to award a contract to Mapp to help it begin clinical trials testing ZMapp in humans, according to a notice posted online July 22.
http://sunnewsonline.com
Comments