ROCKVILLE, Md., Mar 24, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS) today released the following statement in observance of World TB Day.
The World TB Day 2011 campaign, “On the move against TB: Transforming the fight towards elimination,” challenges us to undertake the fight against TB with the end goal of eliminating this highly infectious and lethal disease. Two billion people or one-third of the world’s population is infected with TB bacilli, the microbes that cause TB. The World Health Organization estimates that there are over 9 million new TB cases and 1.7 million deaths from TB annually.
“One of the barriers identified towards eliminating TB is the lack of a fully effective vaccine in the market,” said Fuad El-Hibri, chairman and chief executive officer of Emergent BioSolutions. “As a collaborator in the Oxford-Emergent Tuberculosis Consortium (OETC), Emergent’s joint venture with the University of Oxford, to develop what could be the first new TB vaccine in 90 years, we are pleased to be working toward a solution to address this global health emergency.”
A Phase IIb clinical trial involving 2,784 infants is currently underway in Worcester, South Africa to evaluate the efficacy of MVA85A, the world’s most clinically advanced tuberculosis vaccine in development. The trial entails administering MVA85A as a booster to the BCG vaccine and is being conducted by the University of Cape Town’s South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative, in partnership with OETC and Aeras Global TB Foundation.
On World TB Day and beyond, Emergent hopes to raise public awareness of TB and the importance of new vaccines to help curtail the global health problem of tuberculosis. For more information, visit www.emergentbiosolutions.com/tbvaccine and view “OETC: Endeavor to End Tuberculosis,” a video that focuses on the efforts of OETC to further develop MVA85A.
About Emergent BioSolutions Inc.
Emergent BioSolutions protects and enhances life by developing and manufacturing vaccines and therapeutics that are supplied to healthcare providers and purchasers for use in preventing and treating disease. Emergent’s marketed and investigational products target infectious diseases, oncology and autoimmune disorders. Additional information about the company may be found at www.emergentbiosolutions.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements, other than statements of historical fact, including statements regarding our strategy, future operations, future financial position, future revenues, projected costs, prospects, plans and objectives of management, and any other statements containing the words “believes”, “expects”, “anticipates”, “plans”, “estimates” and similar expressions, are forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause the actual results of the Consortium or Emergent to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements, including the timing of, and the potential for successful outcomes resulting from, future product development efforts; the ability of the Consortium or Emergent to obtain additional funding for product development efforts; plans of the Consortium and Emergent to expand manufacturing facilities and capabilities; the rate and degree of market acceptance and clinical utility of products; and other factors identified in Emergent’s Annual Report for the year ended December 31, 2010 and subsequent reports filed with the SEC. The Consortium and Emergent disclaim any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this press release.
SOURCE: Emergent BioSolutions Inc.
