$448M HHS contract for Emergent Bio

Maryland, USA-based biopharmaceutical firm Emergent BioSolutions that it has signed a three year contract with the Department of Health and Human Services, with a total value of up to $448.0 million. News of the deal saw the firm's share price rocket 18.4% to $9.22 on September 26. Components of the contract include:

- $400.0 million firm fixed-price for delivery of 18.75 million doses of BioThrax (anthrax vaccine, adsorbed) for inclusion in the strategic national stockpile (SNS);

- $34.0 million for receipt of regulatory approval of four-year expiry dating for BioThrax payable through a combination of a lump-sum reflecting a price per dose increase for certain doses delivered prior to approval and an increase in dosage price to be paid for product delivered following approval;