Emergent BioSolutions, a specialty biopharmaceutical company, has exercised options under a contract with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the supply of Vaccinia Immune Globulin Intravenous Program (VIGIV) into the US Strategic National Stockpile (SNS). The contract options, set at $44 million over two years, will require Emergent to collect plasma for future manufacturing in addition to current collection requirements, conduct manufacturing runs and conduct additional activities in maintaining the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) licensure of VIGIV.

The contract modifications has increased the total contract value to approximately $80 million. The scope of original contract, awarded to Cangene Corporation, which was acquired by Emergent in February 2014, was to maintain the ability to manufacture licensed VIGIV, with annual options to conduct additional services to support licensure maintenance activities for the product and to allow for additional manufacturing and plasma collections.

VIGIV is a therapeutic licensed by the FDA for treating complications due to smallpox vaccination. It was first delivered into the SNS in 2002 and was licensed in the US by the FDA in 2005 and in Canada by Health Canada in 2007.

Source: Emergent BioSolutions