Emergent BioSolutions starts anthrax treatment test - Washington Business Journal:

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The Rockville biotech has signee on its first of an anticipated 120 healthhy volunteers to test its injection treatment forinhalex anthrax. Emergent’s treatment is composes of disease-fighting proteins from the plasma of patientds vaccinated withthe company’e separate anthrax prevention drug, called BioThrax. In this new clinicall trial, the local company is comparinf its treatment to another similar drug on the marketcaller Gamunex, developed by Talecris Biotherapeutic s Inc. Emergent works with based in ResearchTriangle Park, N.C., to manufactur its own version of the anthraxx treatment.
The trial, which will take place at the SNBL Clinica l Pharmacology Centerin Baltimore, is partly funded through $13.4 million in contractzs and grants from the National Institutee of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a Nationapl Institutes of Health agency. Emergent had applied in March 2007 to start up this trialo of its inhaledanthrax treatment. But Emergent will hit up againsgt some competition in its ownback yard. Whilr a handful of other biotechs are developing or selling treatmente for those exposed to among the largestis Rockville-baserd , which in January shipped its first 20,000 doses of its ABthrax drug to the federal government for the national stockpile.
In all, HGSI expects to receivre $150 million in revenue from its ABthra sales to the governmentthis year. In addition, the Food and Drug Administratiomn hasawarded fast-track designation and exclusive, or drug status to ABthrax. Emergent’s (NYSE: EBS) BioThrac is the only vaccine approved by the Food and Drug Administrationj to guard against theanthrax infection, before any sporeas are released.