Emergent BioSolutions, National Institutes of Health infectious news
Emergent received a four-year contract for up to $28.7 million from NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to develop the company's AV7909 anthrax vaccine. The contract includes a two-year base valued at $9.1 million, plus milestone-based options. The options include continued stability testing of Phase II clinical trial lots and a Phase II trial, which is slated for 1Q12. The preliminary data are expected in 2H12. AV7909, which is in preclinical testing, is a combination of Emergent's BioThrax and VaxImmune, a toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) agonist. BioThrax is approved in the U.S. to prevent anthrax. Emergent has a non-exclusive license to VaxImmune from Coley Pharmaceutical Group Inc., a subsidiary of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE, New York, N.Y.). The vaccine is being developed under the FDA Animal Rule, under which marketing approval can be granted based on efficacy in relevant animal models and an acceptable safety risk profile in humans. ...