PharmAthene to buy Avecia business

PharmAthene, a US biodefense company specializing in the development and commercialization of medical countermeasures against biological and chemical threats, and UK contract manufacturer of biopharmaceuticals Avecia Biologics, have entered into a definitive sale and purchase agreement under which the former will acquire all of the assets and intellectual property related to Avecia's biodefense vaccines business. This includes a second-generation recombinant Protective Antigen (rPA) anthrax vaccine, a recombinant dual antigen plague vaccine, and a third-generation rPA anthrax vaccine program. As part of this agreement, the two companies have entered into a long-term manufacturing contract for the supply of these vaccine drug substances to PharmAthene.

David Wright, chief executive of the US firm, commented: "our acquisition of Avecia's biodefense vaccine assets significantly advances PharmAthene's strategy of building a leading biodefense company with a comprehensive portfolio of medical countermeasures that specifically meet the requirements for procurement established by the US government. Importantly, the rPA anthrax vaccine presents a promising near-term procurement opportunity for PharmAthene based upon a recently-issued government solicitation outlining requirements to procure 25 million doses of an rPA vaccine."

Adding to this, Eric Richman, senior vice president of business development and strategic planning at PharmAthene, noted: "Avecia's vaccine technologies were acquired from the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), part of the UK Ministry of Defence, and they have maintained an outstanding partnership with Dstl in pursuit of the advancement of these programs. To date, Avecia has been awarded government grant and contract funding of $220.0 million for its biodefense vaccine programs." PharmAthene has been awarded government grant and contract funding of up to $260.0 million, provided that certain milestones are achieved, he added.