Agreement includes Phase III flu vaccine with a $30 million fee dependent on commercialization milestones.

Emergent BioSolutions and Protein Sciences’ (PSC) inked an asset purchase agreement worth $48 million upfront and $30 million in milestone payments. The acquisition will add a Phase III recombinant influenza vaccine to Emergent’s pipeline and related technology.


Under the terms of the deal, Emergent will pay up to $28 million in cash and a $20 million, 4.75%, five-year note, convertible into Emergent common stock at a conversion price of $12.50 per share. Emergent will also pay up to $30 million in success-based fees related to FluBlok commercialization and sales achievements. Finally, PSC shareholders will receive a percentage of FluBlok net sales.


FluBlok if approved will be the first recombinant cell culture influenza vaccine, notes Emergent. FluBlok has the potential for use in seasonal and pandemic settings, according to the firm.


Besides this vaccine, Emergent also gained the Baculovirus Expression Vector System (BEVS), a cell culture-based manufacturing platform used for FluBlok. The BEVS technology reportedly can be applied to develop vaccines and therapeutic candidates to prevent or treat a wide range of diseases.


PSC’s vaccine manufacturing facility in Meriden, CO, is also part of the agreement. It includes a 600-liter bioreactor and related upstream and downstream capabilities. Additionally, Emergent will acquire PSC’s other product candidates based on the BEVS platform, which include a SARS vaccine in preclinical development.


The closing of this transaction is anticipated by the end of the second quarter.

Previous article3SBio Obtains Chinese License to AMAG’s Iron-Replacement Therapy
Next articleTakeda Signs On as Alnylam’s Asian Partner for $150M Upfront