Pfenex, Inc. has awarded Paragon Bioservices a contract for the cGMP manufacture of its rPA-based anthrax vaccine. Paragon will implement the cGMP-ready Pfenex Expression Technology-based production process that has been developed at Pfenex. The contract will be funded by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).
 
“We are pleased to award this contract to Paragon Bioservices,” said Bertrand C. Liang, chief executive officer. “This is the next step in reaching our common objective with BARDA to develop an anthrax vaccine with a product capable of achieving the goals of the Strategic National Stockpile for the U. S. Government, including cost, shelf life, and administration improvements. With Paragon Bioservices we believe we will rapidly implement the large-scale cGMP production of the rPA required for our Phase I trial.”
 
Marco A. Chacon, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Paragon said, “My team and I are dedicated to providing manufacturing support to Pfenex, using their powerful protein expression technology. This project becomes all the more important since it will enrich the national armamentarium of vaccines against potential bio-weapons.”