Emergent BioSolutions lands $911 million contract for anthrax vaccine

Emergent BioSolutions, a Gaithersburg-based drug developer, has signed a contract with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention worth up to $911 million over five years to supply more than 29 million doses of its BioThrax anthrax vaccine.

In a notice of intent, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority said it also planned to order another $100 million-worth of BioThrax.

Emergent, which has a manufacturing facility in Baltimore, will deliver the order within two years of the contract award, expected in the first half of 2017. The company’s stock shot up Friday, reaching a high of $33.94 per share and closing at $32.37, up nearly 19 percent.

The new BioThrax orders come on the heels of a September contract with BARDA — which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services — worth up to $1.6 billion for NuThrax, Emergent’s next generation anthrax vaccine candidate. The company’s anthrax vaccines are manufactured in Michigan.

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