Acambis updates smallpox vaccine programme
Transatlantic biotechnology company Acambis, of Cambridge UK, and Cambridge, MA, US, has successfully completed the production, filling and quality control testing of all 155m doses of ACAM2000 smallpox vaccine required under its principal contract with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ('CDC').
Transatlantic biotechnology company Acambis, of Cambridge UK, and Cambridge, MA, US, has successfully completed the production, filling and quality control testing of all 155m doses of ACAM2000 smallpox vaccine required under its principal contract with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ('CDC').
Of these doses, over half have been labelled and delivered to the US stock-pile. Over the past few months, a series of discussions have been ongoing between the CDC and the FDA regarding a new label design for the vials of vaccine that have not yet been labelled. The remaining vials of ACAM2000 vaccine to be labelled with the new design will be released and delivered to the US stockpile in the coming weeks.
Acambis' methodology of accounting for revenue under this contract is dependent upon delivery and not just completion of manufacture of the vaccine. Hence, the revenues relating to delivery of these remaining vials of vaccine that had previously been expected in the second quarter of 2003 are now expected to arise in the third and fourth quarters of this year.