PharmAthene, Inc., a biodefense company specializing in the development and commercialization of medical countermeasures against chemical and biological threats, has announced that pursuant to the Federal Acquisition Regulations and pending a ruling in a protest recently filed by a competitor the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), has suspended work under the modification the Company announced on February 23, 2010 to its existing contract with BARDA for the research and development of SparVax(TM). June 11, 2010 is the deadline to rule on the protest.
David P. Wright, President & Chief Executive Officer, commented "We are confident that BARDA has complied with all applicable legal and contractual requirements in entering into the modifications with PharmaAthene and that the contract modification for SparVax(TM) will be upheld once a ruling on the protest is issued. In the meantime, funding under the original NIH contract transferred to BARDA in April 2009 will continue to support ongoing advanced development activities for SparVax(TM) until a decision is reached. We are disappointed that a competitor - whose primary motivation should be protecting our citizens from bioterrorist threats - has chosen to pursue a path intended to delay development of a key medical countermeasure for our nation's biodefense arsenal."
The rPA contract modification was announced via a Special Notice (Solicitation Number: HHSO100200900103C) rPA Anthrax Vaccine Advance Development, issued by HHS on December 29, 2009. The original development contract for rPA vaccine (N01-Al-30052) was issued in 2003 and transferred to BARDA on April 1, 2009.