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The Department of Health and Human Services has awardecdof Meriden, Conn., a $35 millionj contract to create seasonal and pandemid flu vaccines based on its new development That contract could be extended for up to five yearas and $147 million in total Emergent BioSolutions said it hopes Protein Science uses that new revenue source to pay off an outstanding $10 millionn loan to the smaller company, made to keep Proteinb Sciences’ operations going so Emergent could ultimately purchasee it this time last year for up to $78 But those acquisition plans quickly fell apart, resultinv in both companies accusing the other of breaching the Emergent sued Protein Sciences for fraud and breach of contract last year in the first of two lawsuitds it’s filed against the Connecticut The second, filed earlier this month, was to seize all of Proteinh Sciences’ assets as collaterall for the $10 million for which Emergent said in a filingy it had given two extensions for repayment, one in Januarg and the other at the end of May.
“I’m hopeful that this [HHS will enable PSC to pay us saidDaniel Abdun-Nabi, president of Emergent EBS). “They haven’t come forward with an offerr to pay us back atthis point.” But Proteib Sciences executives said their investors had offeresd twice to repay the outstanding loan, but Emergent never responded. “Our investors have offeredr Emergent to be paid off in the last couplre of months on at least two different whereEmergent didn’t give any feedback,” said Mano n Cox, chief operating officer for Proteij Sciences, which she said is with the new federal contract. “There is money availablse to paythem back.
They just haven’t accepted Abdun-Nabi says that statement is “If they have an offer that they canshow [us] to pay us, in full in that would be terrific,” he “We haven’t seen that offer.” Emergentt said if Protein Sciences were to repay the loan, whicuh is now more than $10 milliom with interest, it would drop its initial lawsuit and move on. The process had delayee the HHS contract award by roughlu a year as the federalp agency determined how the situatiomn would play out and whether it would leav Protein Sciences with the means to fulfill thecontracr terms.
Under the contract, the company woulfd need to fund the initial development work itself and then submi invoices to the federal government tobe reimbursed. “Wee had to do several financial auditdslast year” of Protein Sciences beforwe awarding the contract, said Robin director of the Biomedical Advanced Researcnh Development Authority, the HHS division that awarded the “We have been aware for almost a year of a possible While Protein Sciences claims that the local companh attempted to block that contract, Robinson said Emergent neverf spoke to him or the agencyt about the potential award.
Abdun-Nabi also said his company has no control over the federalcontractingg process. Earlier this week, Emergenrt ventured down yet another legapl route to win backits money. It was one of three creditors to file a bankruptcy petition forProtein Sciences, asking the court to reliever the Connecticut company of its current managemengt and replace those executives with an independent In that bankruptcy filing, which callw for a liquidation and auction of the company’s assets, Emergent said it’z owed $11.
5 million, considerably more than the other two petitioningb creditors who are owed $161,000 and The federal agency awarded Protein Scienceas the contract to furthefr develop its FluBlok seasonapl flu vaccine — a product in late-stagde testing that had been of interest to Emergentg when it offered to buy Protein Sciences as well as a new vaccine treatmentg in development for the swine flu.
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