The US Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded a procurement contract worth up to $235.8m to Emergent BioSolutions for an indefinite-delivery and indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) supply of BioThrax.
As per the DoD contract, Emergent will supply BioThrax to all US military members who have a high risk of exposure to anthrax. The company will receive at least $20.1m for the initial five years ending on 30 September 2028. The contract allows for a five-year extension, with Emergent receiving at least $20m for each year, as per an 11 January press release.
BioThrax is a pre-exposure adsorbed form of an anthrax vaccine. In December 2008, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the five-dose schedule and intramuscular route of administration for BioThrax.
Anthrax is an infectious disease caused by Bacillus anthracis, which occurs naturally in soil. The disease commonly affects domestic and wild animals. Humans can contract anthrax if they come in contact with infected animals or contaminated animal products.
Emergent has several contracts with US government agencies for vaccines and therapeutics for various infectious diseases. In November 2023, the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) awarded Emergent a $75m contract for the supply of its post-exposure prophylactic anthrax vaccine, Cyfendus.
In July 2023, Emergent signed a ten-year contract with BARDA for the advanced development, manufacturing scale-up, and procurement of Ebanga (ansuvimab-zykl). The monoclonal antibody was approved for treating Ebola virus disease by the FDA in 2020. The ten-year BARDA contract is divided into two option periods - the advanced development option valued at $121m, and the procurement option valued at $583m over five years.
In May 2023, Emergent sold its travel vaccine portfolio, which included marketed vaccines for typhoid fever and cholera, and the Phase III Chikungunya vaccine candidate to Bavarian Nordic. In August 2023, Bavarian reported positive topline data from the Phase III study of its virus-like particle (VLP)-based chikungunya virus vaccine CHIKV VLP (PXVX0317) in adults and adolescents. The vaccine induced neutralising antibodies in 98% of the participants in the active group.
