Global Security Newswire

A Maryland biotechnology firm announced yesterday that it could receive as much as $78.4 million more in U.S. Health and Human Services Department funding for its work on a next-generation anthrax vaccine (see GSN, Jan. 11).

Under an existing contract with the department's Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, PharmAthene could be awarded the additional money for its SparVax vaccine research, so long as specific benchmarks are met, the company said in a press release.

"There is widespread acknowledgment among various government agencies that the United States must develop and stockpile a second-generation anthrax vaccine employing modern vaccine technology that offers the potential for improved safety, convenience and enhanced cost effectiveness," PharmAthene President and CEO David Wright said in the release.

The company hopes that its new vaccine could one day be purchased in bulk for the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile.

Past clinical trials indicate that three doses of the experimental vaccine, taken over the course of 56 days, are enough to confer anthrax immunity. That compares to the five doses, administered over 18 months, that the only vaccine licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires to provide immunity, the company said.

The contract update covers the period between Monday and Dec. 31, 2012. It includes as much as $61 million during the "base period," with up to $17 million added on a "cost reimbursement plus fixed fee basis," according to the release.

PharmAthene has applied for additional federal funding for its SparVax research.

"We believe that, if awarded, funding provided under the [Broad Agency Announcement], along with the additional funding announced today, could be sufficient to advance SparVax to a stage where it will be eligible for consideration for a Project Bioshield procurement contract," Wright said (PharmAthene release, Feb. 23).