Emergent BioSolutions and Providence Therapeutics have entered into a five-year contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) services agreement spanning Emergent’s integrated capabilities, including development services, bulk drug substance formulation and drug product manufacturing, to support Providence’s COVID-19 messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine development. In 2022, Emergent will manufacture tens of millions of doses of PTX-COVID19-B drug product, as well as batches of PTX-COVID19-B formulated bulk drug substance with the potential to yield hundreds of millions more doses, for global populations in need of pandemic relief.
 
Under the terms of the five-year agreement, Emergent will provide current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) manufacturing services for two presentations of the PTX-COVID19-B vaccine product, both the formulated bulk drug substance and finished drug product (fill/finish), at Emergent’s facility in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Additional process and analytical development services will occur from Emergent’s Center of Excellence for Development Services in Gaithersburg, MD. The baseline agreement signed between Emergent and Providence Therapeutics is valued at approximately $90 million, covering manufacturing services, studies to support global supply chain activities, as well as facility and equipment investments.
 
“Emergent’s commitment to fight the COVID-19 pandemic is anchored in our partnerships with innovators who share the same mission to address public health threats around the world,” said Adam R. Havey, executive vice president and chief operating officer at Emergent BioSolutions. “This collaboration is a testament to Emergent’s long heritage and experience in Canada. We are proud that Providence has chosen our Winnipeg team and site to manufacture its Canadian mRNA technology in Western Canada, one of the few facilities in the country manufacturing large quantities of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine doses today.”
 
Brad Sorenson, CEO, Providence, said, “Providence is very pleased to have the resources necessary to ramp up commercial manufacturing of its COVID vaccine here in Canada. We look forward to working side-by-side with Emergent to deliver tens of millions, and potentially hundreds of millions of doses of our world-class vaccine to developing countries across the globe. It has always been Providence’s mission to produce the highest quality medicines at affordable prices, and with Emergent’s help we are closer to achieving this goal.”
 
To date, Emergent has partnered with numerous pharmaceutical and biotech innovators, as well as the U.S. government and non-government organizations in providing critical contract manufacturing services (drug substance manufacturing, drug product manufacturing and development services) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.