con 150mln $ ..oggi altro saltino ?
Human Genome Sciences Announces New Order for Raxibacumab (ABthrax(TM)) from U.S. Government
Wednesday, July 22, 2009 7:01 AM
Second order secured for first-in-class treatment for inhalation anthrax -
- HGS expects approximately
$151 million in revenue from delivery of 45,000 doses to U.S. Strategic National Stockpile over three-year period beginning in late 2009 -
OCKVILLE, Md., July 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: HGSI) today announced that the U.S. Government has exercised its option to purchase an additional 45,000 doses of raxibacumab (ABthrax(TM)) for the Strategic National Stockpile, to be delivered over a three-year period, beginning near the end of 2009. HGS expects to receive approximately $151 million from this award as deliveries are completed.
(Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080416/HGSLOGO )
"We are very pleased to receive this second purchase order for raxibacumab and look forward to the continued progress of our partnership with the U.S. Government under Project BioShield to help strengthen America's arsenal against bioterrorism," said H. Thomas Watkins, President and Chief Executive Officer, HGS. "We all hope never to see a large-scale version of the inhalation anthrax attacks that took place in 2001, but HGS is proud to play a role in making sure that we are prepared as a nation to limit the human cost of such an attack should it ever occur."
Raxibacumab is a first-in-class treatment for anthrax, and the first procurement under Project BioShield of a product discovered and developed after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Raxibacumab is being developed under a contract entered into in 2006 with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In April 2009, HGS fulfilled its commitment to deliver the first 20,000 doses of raxibacumab to the Strategic National Stockpile for emergency use in the treatment of inhalation anthrax.
"We are proud of our progress, but it is important to acknowledge that raxibacumab would never have been developed without Project BioShield," said James H. Davis, Ph.D., J.D., Executive Vice President and General Counsel, HGS, and leader of the Company's raxibacumab program with the U.S. Government. "It is widely known that anthrax spores can be aerosolized and turned into a bioterrorist weapon with the potential to cause significant loss of life. With raxibacumab, the United States now has a treatment for inhalation anthrax. It has taken HGS nearly seven years of work, much of it in close partnership with BARDA, to reach the point where we have successfully delivered raxibacumab to the Stockpile and secured this second purchase order. We are delighted to have reached this important milestone, and we look forward to continuing to work closely with BARDA in the interest of our nation's security."
Raxibacumab represents a new way to address the anthrax threat. While antibiotics can kill the anthrax bacteria, they are not effective against the deadly toxins that the bacteria produce.