PharmAthene has received a multi-year contract to develop and commercialize an anthrax vaccine, according to a press release.

For the advanced development of a third generation recombinant protective antigen anthrax vaccine, PharmAthene has been awarded a federal contract worth up to $83.9 million by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

In the beginning, the biodefense research company will receive about $13.2 million throughout a "base period" of performance. During this interval, PharmAthene will have to do preclinical activities like the development and qualification of assays, conducting toxicology studies and stability testing, as well as developing non-clinical animal models. As part of the agreement, NIAID maintains its possibility of extending the contract under two divided options with a combined value of maximum $9.7 million

The third generation program aims at developing an rPA anthrax vaccine that can maintain stability for no less than three years at 35 degrees Celsius. The vaccine should also induce protective immunity in two doses or only one. Starting 2005, its development has been sponsored by an NIH grant.

Taking into consideration “development efforts to date, PharmAthene's third-generation vaccine could offer significant improvements in both stability and storage compared to the current FDA approved vaccine,” said David P. Wright, PharmAthene President and Chief Executive Officer.

PharmAthene, which is “pleased that NIAID has awarded such a significant contract,” believes that the contract is part of a larger strategy planned by the Department of Health and Human Services to make sure that the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) has the most successful anthrax countermeasures which currently exist.