Oxford-Emergent Tuberculosis Consortium Signs Commercial License Agreement With ProBioGen To Explore Production Of MVA85A TB Vaccine Candidate Using AGE1.CR.PIX® Cell Line

Oxford, UK; Rockville, MD, U.S.A., Berlin, Germany, 05 May 2009

MVA85A is the most clinically advanced of a new generation of TB vaccines under development

The Oxford-Emergent Tuberculosis Consortium Ltd., a joint venture between the University of Oxford and Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS), announced today the signing of a commercial license agreement with ProBioGen, to evaluate large scale commercial production capabilities for MVA85A, the Consortium’s promising new TB vaccine candidate.

Under the commercial agreement, the Consortium will explore production of MVA85A using the ProBioGen proprietary AGE1.CR.pIX® cell line, which was developed to replace chicken embryonic fibroblasts (CEF) and chicken eggs as production substrates for vaccines.

"We are pleased that the Oxford-Emergent Tuberculosis Consortium is able to work with ProBioGen to evaluate production of MVA85A, the most clinically advanced TB vaccine candidate,” said Fuad El-Hibri, chairman and chief executive officer of Emergent BioSolutions. “This agreement represents a step forward in addressing an unmet medical need and is a sign of progress that supports our company mission – to protect life."

"ProBioGen is well positioned to provide the Oxford-Emergent Tuberculosis Consortium an innovative solution to produce their MVA-based, clinically advanced vaccine” said Michael Schlenk, chief executive officer of ProBioGen. "Our proprietary AGE1.CR.pIX® cell line that we have developed in cooperation with our partner IDT Biologics is a new state-of-the-art technology that provides outstanding productivity and the highest level of characterization."

The Consortium recently announced the commencement of a Phase IIb clinical trial to evaluate MVA85A in approximately 2,784 children less than one year of age in South Africa. It is expected that the trial will generate important safety, immunogenicity and preliminary efficacy data about the vaccine candidate.

The commercial license includes an upfront payment to ProBioGen as well as development milestone payments and royalties on future sales of the TB candidate.