Emergent accuses biotech execs of wrecking buyout pact

John Carroll — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 09:21:20 -0400

Rockville, MD-based Emergent BioSolutions has filed suit against Protein Sciences, saying the vaccine developer never planned to follow through on a planned $75 million acquisition agreement. According to Emergent's claim, the top executives of Protein Sciences ridiculed the deal after it was announced and only really wanted $10 million in bridge financing that came with the pact so it could pursue other options. Protein Sciences' Daniel D. Adams and Manon M.J. Cox were singled out in the lawsuit.

"I'm very surprised and disappointed by the actions of Emergent," Cox told the Washington Post. "The way things are going, perhaps it's better in principle if the companies go their own ways."

Protein Sciences is in the final stages of the approval process for its FluBlock vaccine, which is grown in insect cells rather than the traditional egg-based manufacturing approach.

- read the article in the Washington Post

VaxGen sells anthrax vaccine to its old rival

Thu, 08 May 2008 06:59:55 -0400

Reduced to a skeleton crew and a bleak outlook, South San Francisco-based VaxGen sold its experimental anthrax vaccine to its former chief rival, Emergent BioSolutions, for $2 million down and up to $8 million in milestones.

VaxGen began to founder in 2006 when the government revoked an $877 million contract for the VaxGen vaccine after the company failed to start a human trial on schedule. Now Emergent, which makes the only FDA-approved anthrax vaccine now available, says it plans to advance the experimental vaccine.

VaxGen, which once had more than 200 employees, has been reduced to a staff of about six after a planned merger with Raven biotechnologies fell through.

- here's VaxGen's release on the deal