Emergent receives BARDA contract to advance development of novel rPA anthrax vaccine

Emergent BioSolutions (NYSE:EBS) announced today that, after completion of an inter-agency In Process Review, the Biomedical Advanced Research Development Authority (BARDA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has exercised a contract option to further advance the development of PreviThrax^TM (Recombinant Protective Antigen Anthrax Vaccine, Purified), the company's novel rPA anthrax vaccine candidate. This option is part of the company's rPA development contract with BARDA executed in October 2010.

"Emergent is pleased that PreviThrax, our rPA vaccine candidate, has met all of the key milestones necessary for BARDA to exercise the contract option," said Adam Havey, executive vice president of Emergent BioSolutions. "We look forward to continuing to work with BARDA to develop the medical countermeasures it believes are necessary to address the nation's security requirements."

Since initiating the contract in 2010, Emergent has made significant progress in the development of PreviThrax, including:

- Increasing the manufacturing yield by over fourfold,
- Transferring the manufacturing process to single-use bioreactors for flexible manufacturing,
- Transferring the manufacturing process to the company's Baltimore manufacturing facility,
- Demonstrating stability for both liquid and dry formulations,
- Demonstrating stability at elevated temperatures, and
- Completing numerous analytical method validations.