The contract – detailed in a US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing – will see Emergent’s subsidiary – Emergent Biodefense Operations Lansing LLC – make BioThrax (anthrax vaccine absorbed) for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The five year deal is designed to supply the US Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) with the initial batch of BioThrax due to be delivered early next year. The agreement builds on an existing supply deal that expired in September.
Extension
Emergent CEO Daniel Abdun-Nabi predicted the contract ealirer this year, telling investors “the CDC advised us that they anticipate continued procurement of BioThrax in the second and third quarters, although they had not specified the specific number of doses to be purchased.”
The firm also announced it has received a notice of intent from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to procure approximately $100m of BioThrax, deliverable within the next two years.
BioThrax is the only vaccine licensed by the US FDA for the prevention of anthrax disease. Emergent makes the product at its Lansing, Michigan campus.
In May, Emergent announced its intention to increase capacity at the facility – known as building 55 – to allow it to produce up to 25 million doses of the vaccine each year.