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Emergent To Expand Manufacturing

Company said it received a contract to ramp up manufacturing of its anthrax vaccine BioThrax, and the deal could be worth as much as $107 million over the next five years.

ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) -- Emergent BioSolutions Inc. said Wednesday it received a contract to ramp up manufacturing of its anthrax vaccine BioThrax, and the deal could be worth as much as $107 million over the next five years.

Emergent received the contract from the Office of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services. The deal gives Emergent funding to get develop greater manufacturing capacity and get regulatory approval for that capacity.

BioThrax is produced at a facility in Lansing, Mich., which can make up to 8 million doses of BioThrax per year. Emergent said it could increase that capacity to 26 million doses per year.

Emergent will get $54.6 million over two years under the first part of the contract. BARDA has three option years that could bring total value to $107 million. Emergent said it will get as much as $10 million in revenue and $5 million in pretax profit in the second half of 2010 under the deal.

The company said it will get "a substantial majority" of the $107 million in the first three years of the contract, assuming the first option year is exercised.

Emergent shares rose 17 cents to $16.72 in morning trading.

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