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news.Shares in Life Therapeutics have risen almost 6% after the company signed a contract with DVC LLC, a Computer Sciences Corporation company, to provide the vaccinia hyperimmune plasma used to make a product for protection against serious smallpox vaccine complications.
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Vaccinia immune globulin (VIGIV) is used to treat rare serious reactions that sometimes occur with smallpox vaccination. The hyperimmune plasma will be supplied by Life Sera, an Atlanta-based division of Life Therapeutics.
Life Sera will collect the hyperimmune plasma at four of its eight US donor centers using the company’s unique donor management system. VIGIV is produced by hyperimmunizing volunteers with the smallpox vaccine and then collecting their blood plasma. The hyperimmune plasma is then made into a drug product .
This contract is worth up to $1.58M to Life Therapeutics and represents income above and beyond the A$38 million published forecast.
DVC is the first company to be granted an FDA license to produce VIGIV. In 2002 and 2003, for a different sponsor, Life Sera conducted one of the clinical trials on the smallpox vaccine and collected plasma as part of the US government’s program to stockpile vaccinia hyperimmune plasma.
“This agreement helps us remain very much on track to achieve the financial and strategic objectives we have targeted for the 2005 financial year,” said John Manusu, CFO for Life Therapeutics. “It is also a major milestone from a business standpoint. Through our network of collection centers, we have the capacity to expand into many more therapeutic areas in the future and we intend to vigorously pursue that goal.”