The first ever drug to treat smallpox has been approved by the US FDA, after having been created by SIGA Therapeutics in coordination with several US departments.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Emergent BioSolutions’ supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for the manufacture of ACAM2000, the only FDA-licensed smallpox vaccine, as the company looks to expand its CMO services.
Danish biotech Bavarian Nordic has signed a $9m contract from Johnson & Johnson to improve stability of their joint Ebola vaccine. After options and milestone awards, payment could total $33m.
The completion of trial batches of Siga Technologies’ smallpox treatment ST-246 could not have been better timed following as it does the recomendation that the Obama government raise the threat of bio-terror up its list of concerns.
Denmark-based Bavarian Nordic has received an advance payment of
$50m (€35.4m) from the US Government for meeting milestones in one
of its smallpox vaccine supply contracts.
Acambis has had its smallpox vaccine approved by the US, coming one
step closer to closing another supply contract for the US Strategic
National Stockpile.
UK biotech firm Acambis has decided to bring the manufacturing of
its soon to be approved smallpox vaccine in-house while its
agreement with contract manufacturer Baxter comes to an end.
A multi-million dollar US manufacturing contract for Acambis hinges
on whether or not the firm can satisfy the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) that its investigational smallpox vaccine
should be approved.
Danish biopharmaceutical firm Bavarian Nordic has received approval
from Denmark's government to begin large-scale commercial
production of smallpox vaccine based on its Modified Vaccinia
Ankara (MVA) virus strain which demonstrates...
In today's increasingly tense socio-political climate, with the
threat of bioterrorism looming ever larger, the race to find an
effective drug therapy for one of the world's most feared diseases
- smallpox - is hotting...
Scientists studying vaccinia virus, a close relative of smallpox,
have discovered that a gene necessary for virus replication also
plays a key role in turning off inflammation, a crucial antiviral
immune response of host cells.
Denmark-based vaccines company Bavarian Nordic is investing DK 250
million (€33.6m) in a production facility that will be the largest
of its kind in Europe, producing up to 120 million vaccine doses a
year.
A new-generation smallpox vaccine developed by Acambis may be less
neurovirulent than a rival registered in the USA, while still
providing equivalent immunogenicity.