With cases of Ebola growing, the federal government is working to dramatically increase production of ZMapp, an experimental drug developed in San Diego, the The New York Times reported Wednesday.
The Times said the Department of Health and Human Services is in advanced discussions with Caliber Biotherapeutics, a Texas company that can produce the drug in millions of tobacco plants.
Mapp Biopharmaceutical, a small biotech based in Sorrento Valley, said in August that all supplies of the drug had been exhausted.
The Times said that in addition to use of tobacco plants, two of the world’s biggest charities — the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust — are seeking to produce ZMapp in animal cells, a more conventional approach.
In September, Mapp Biopharmaceutical was awarded a federal contract worth up to $42.3 million for development and clinical trials of ZMapp.
