GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) will provide an anthrax treatment to the U.S. government to guard against possible bioterrorist attacks, according to a $196 million contract announced Thursday.
The four-year contract with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA, calls for GSK to provide 60,000 doses of the inhaled drug raxibacumab over four years. Anthrax is a disease caused by a toxin-producing bacterium. Anthrax is easily found nature and its spores can can be reproduced in a lab, making it a potential bioterror threat. Antibiotics are available to target anthrax bacteria. Raxibacumab is an anti-toxin that offers the additional capability of blocking the activity of the anthrax toxin.
Raxibacumab was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2012 to treat adults and children with inhaled anthrax in combination with other antibacterial drugs. It is not approved in any other country.
“As a pharmaceutical company we believe we have a responsibility to support governments in protecting their citizens against infectious diseases,” Mary Kerr, global commercial lead for infectious diseases at GSK, said in a statement. “This agreement highlights the ongoing successful collaboration between GSK and BARDA and is just one example of our commitment to working with governments globally to fight major public health threats.”
British company GSK operates its U.S. headquarters in Research Triangle Park.
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