Marburg Virus Prophylactic Medical Countermeasure

There are currently no vaccines or therapeutics available for Marburg Virus Disease (MVD). Given the specter of weaponization and the terriblemorbidity and high mortality rate of MVD, this represents a critical threat to the operational readiness of the Warfighter. While traditionalvaccines have proven to be a huge contribution to public health, they do have some limitations especially in the context of operationalreadiness. Perhaps most significant is that vaccines require the host to develop an appropriate immune response. This response must be ofsufficient strength and also of appropriate specificity. Further, development of an immune response can take on the order of 1-6 monthsdepending upon how many boosts are required. Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) offer an alternative that can address all of these limitations oftraditional vaccines. A controlled dose of a mAb(s) of known specificity and known protective activity can be administered, providinginstantaneous immunity to the Warfighter. With the use of well-characterized point mutations to the constant region of a mAb, providing 6-12months of protection should be feasible. The goal of this overall effort is to develop a mAb-based intramuscularly administered vaccinealternative for the Warfighter that would confer immediate immunity for 6-12 months.