Emergent Biosolutions said on Friday it signed a $53 million modified contract with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) in order to allow for future filling and deliveries of its botulism antitoxin to the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile.
The contract covers a five-year period to manufacture and store the company’s bulk drug substance for its botulism antitoxin called BAT. The BAT product is the only botulism antitoxin licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and distributed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for treating naturally occurring, non-infant botulism, and for administration under public health emergencies.
The modification to the contract will allow the final BAT product to be added to the national stockpile, a repository of antibiotics, vaccines, antidotes, and antitoxins for public health protection.
“Emergent is proud to be a longstanding partner to the U.S. government in providing first-in-class and only-in-class products that address biological threat agents,” Adam Havey, executive vice president of business operations at Emergent Biosolutions. “This modification to the contract represents the U.S. government’s continued commitment to developing critical countermeasures such as BAT that address public health threats and fulfill its preparedness needs.”
The antitoxin is indicated for the treatment of symptomatic botulism following documented or suspected exposure to botulinum neurotoxin serotypes in both adults and pediatric patients. Emergent Biosolutions, a global life sciences company, has been supplying the treatment to the Strategic National Stockpile since 2006.