anthrax vaccine news from FierceBiotech

Emergent BioSolutions has inked a deal to acquire the Protein Sciences Corporation assets for up to $75 million. The move is part of Emergent's strategy to expand its product portfolio with a drug Read more...

After spending $175 million in an unsuccessful effort to push a new anthrax vaccine into the clinic, VaxGen has sold the program to Emergent BioSolutions for $2 million. VaxGen also stands to earn Read more...

VaxGen and Raven Biotechnologies are backing out of their proposed merger after "stronger than anticipated opposition" from shareholders. The companies say that while they initially thought Read more...

Annapolis, MD-based PharmAthene has agreed to fork over up to $40 million to acquire the vaccines unit of the UK's Avecia Biologics. The acquisition--which is being paid for with a mix of cash and Read more...

PharmAthene has gained some powerful support in Washington for its plans to expand a herd of genetically modified goats used in drug research by housing the animals at a USDA facility in Maryland. Read more...

> Watch out, GlaxoSmithKline. The market for HIV drugs may be expanding, but it's shifting like the San Andreas Fault at the same time, and more than a handful of companies are poised to challenge Read more...

> MiddleBrook Pharmaceuticals has raised up to $10 million in a new pact with Deerfield Management. Read more...

> Genzyme says its current bid for all the shares of Bioenvision it doesn't already own is its best and final offer. Read more...

Troubled VaxGen is at it again: the company said it will reduce its workforce from 61 to 27 employees in Read more...

> Indianapolis-based Semafore Pharmaceuticals has completed a $9.5 million second round of venture financing. Much of the money will be used to advance Semafore's clinical program for SF1126, its lead PI3 Kinase inhibitor for the treatment of cancer. "This is an exciting time for Semafore, as we prepare to initiate Phase l clinical trials of our lead PI3 Kinase inhibitor SF1126 and transition into a clinical stage company," said John Sima, interim CEO and COO of Semafore. …

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