SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Aug. 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Privately held CHO Plus, Inc. announced today a project agreement awarded from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority’s (BARDA) Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing Preparedness Consortium (BioMaP-Consortium) for up to $10.4 million for developing high productivity Chinese hamster ovary cell lines for manufacturing filovirus monoclonal antibodies for therapeutic use over a 30-month period. The agreement has a base period and two option periods.
Lawrence Forman, Founder and CEO of CHO Plus, said, “We are very pleased to receive this project agreement award from BARDA which involves using our engineered cell lines to produce monoclonal antibodies against highly contagious and lethal filoviruses.”
In addition to cell line development, CHO Plus will be partnering with privately held Avid Bioservices of Tustin, CA to scale up the monoclonal antibodies production for eventual industrial scale requirements. Nick Green, CEO of Avid Bioservices said, “We are thrilled CHO Plus selected Avid Bioservices to be their scale up partner to deliver these important monoclonal antibodies to support BARDA’s strategic initiative for biodefense. The Avid team looks forward to our collaboration.”
This project has been funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR); Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, under OT number #75A50123D00003.
About CHO Plus, Inc.
CHO Plus was founded in 2014 to address the high costs and capacity issues facing therapeutic protein manufacturers. We have developed cutting-edge technologies for creating high productivity GMP-compliant mammalian cell lines to be used for the manufacture of therapeutic proteins and, more recently, viral vectors for gene therapy.
About Avid Bioservices
A dedicated commercial biologics CDMO focused on the development and CGMP manufacture of biopharmaceuticals. Avid Bioservices is in Orange County, CA. Employing over 350 team members, with approximately 213,000 ft2 of space spanning two campuses. This includes a mammalian protein process development facility, two mammalian protein commercial manufacturing facilities, an early phase center of excellence facility, and corporate offices. Visit Avid Bioservices at https://avidbio.com/ and https://www.linkedin.com/company/avid-bioservices/ to learn more.
About BARDA
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) within the U.S Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) is responsible for the advanced research, development, and procurement of medical countermeasures, for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) threats, as well as pandemic influenza and emerging diseases.
About Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing Preparedness Consortium
The Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing Preparedness Consortium (BioMaP-Consortium) supports BARDA and is comprised of industry partners across the drug and vaccine manufacturing supply chain, including manufacturers of required raw materials and consumables, developers of innovative manufacturing technologies, and suppliers of fill finish services. The consortium seeks to expand the industrial and manufacturing base for medical countermeasures to include the requisite capabilities, flexibilities, and strategies to secure needed medical supplies to prepare the United States for future health security threats. Visit biomap-consortium.org to learn more and follow @BioMaP-Consortium on LinkedIn.
Contact
Lawrence Forman
Founder and CEO, CHO Plus, Inc.
Larry@CHO-Plus.com
CHO Plus, Inc.: https://www.cho-plus.com/; https://www.linkedin.com/company/cho-plus
