Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), a senior member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, announced today that the Meriden-based company Protein Sciences Corporation has been awarded a $34.5 million contract from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to further develop a new technology, recombinant technology, for the production of recombinant influenza vaccines. This contract could be extended up to five years at a total cost of approximately $147 million.
"I am pleased that the Department of Health and Human Services has finalized their contract with Protein Sciences Corporation. This major investment in a Connecticut company by the Federal government will create jobs and protect the public health," said Dodd. “As the H1N1 virus continues to impact children and families throughout Connecticut and the rest of the nation, I am proud that a Connecticut company will be a leader in flu vaccine innovation and production.”
The contract will be administered by the Office of Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), an office within the Department of Health and Human Services. BARDA will support Protein Sciences through the technology development and approval process.
This contract coincides with the National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza Implementation Plan which calls on the Department of Health and Human Services to develop and secure treatments and vaccines for pandemic influenza and potential strains.
Protein Sciences Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to save lives and improve health by creating innovative vaccines and biopharmaceuticals.
