Advertise With UsAdvertise on our extensive network of industry websites and newsletters.
Get the PBR newsletterSign up to our free email to get all the latest PBR
news.US-based biopharmaceutical company Emergent BioSolutions has received a contract from the Department of Health and Human Services for over $24.3 million to fund the further development of the company's anthrax monoclonal antibody AVP-21D9.
Subscribe to our email newsletter
This contract will be jointly administered through the Office of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a component of the National Institutes of Health.
The four-year contract provides funding for scale-up of the manufacturing process, for nonclinical studies, and for a Phase I clinical trial.
Emergent anticipates that it will receive approximately $20 million over the first two contract years in support of the scale-up of the manufacturing process and the completion of a Phase I clinical trial. Emergent expects to focus on completing certain nonclinical studies during the final two years of the contract.
Stephen Lockhart, senior vice president of product development at Emergent BioSolutions, said: “The AVP-21D9 antibody is a fully human antibody that has demonstrated very high affinity to the anthrax toxin in animal studies and shows great promise as an effective post-exposure anthrax therapeutic.
“We believe this funding from the Department of Health and Human Services underscores the US government’s commitment to a multi-prong approach in responding to the threat of bioterrorism in our country.”