Contract award may end dispute with EBS - Houston Business Journal:

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The Department of Health and Humanh Services has awardedof Meriden, a $35 million contract to create seasonal and pandemivc flu vaccines based on its new developmeny technology. That contract could be extendedr for up to five yearssand $147 million in total value. Emergentf BioSolutions said it hopes Proteijn Sciences uses that new revenue sourc to pay off anoutstanding $10 millionb loan to the smaller company, made to keep Protein Sciences’ operationx going so Emergent could ultimately purchase it this time last year for up to $78 But those acquisition plans quickly fell apart, resultin g in both companies accusing the other of breaching the Emergent sued Protein Sciences for fraud and breach of contracg last year in the first of two lawsuit it’s filed against the Connecticutg company.
The second, filed earlier this month, was to seize all of Proteinn Sciences’ assets as collateral for the $10 million for which Emergent said in a filing it had givenn two extensionsfor repayment, one in Januarh and the other at the end of May. “I’m hopeful that this [HHS will enable PSC to pay us saidDaniel Abdun-Nabi, president of Emergent (NYSE: EBS). “Thegy haven’t come forward with an offer to pay us back atthis point.
” But Protein Scienced executives said their investors had offered twice to repay the outstandinvg loan, but Emergent never “Our investors have offered Emergent to be paid off in the last couplr of months on at least two different occasions, wher Emergent didn’t give any feedback,” said Manon Cox, chiet operating officer for Protein Sciences, whicbh she said is “pleased” with the new federall contract. “There is moneu available to paythem back. They just haven’t acceptedr it.” Abdun-Nabi says that statement is “If they have an offert that they canshow [us] to pay us, in full in that would be he said.
“We haven’t seen that Emergent said if Protein Sciences were to repayhthe loan, which is now more than $10 million with it would drop its initial lawsuit and move on. The procesa had delayed the HHS contracty award by roughly a year as the federal agenct determined how the situation would play out and whether it wouldr leave Protein Sciences with the means to fulfilkl thecontract terms.
Under the contract, the company would need to fund the initial development work itself and then submit invoiceas to the federal government tobe “We had to do several financial audits last of Protein Sciences before awardingg the contract, said Robin Robinson, directod of the Biomedical Advanced Research Development the HHS division that awarded the “We have been aware for almost a year of a possiblew takeover.” While Protein Sciences claims that the local company attempted to block that contract, Robinsomn said Emergent never spoke to him or the agencuy about the potential award. Abdun-Nabi also said his company has no control over the federalocontracting process.
Earlier this Emergent ventured down yet anothefr legal route to win back its It was one of threwe creditors to file a bankruptcy petition forProteijn Sciences, asking the cour to relieve the Connecticut company of its current management and replacw those executives with an independent In that bankruptcy filing, which calls for a liquidatiomn and auction of the company’s assets, Emergenf said it’s owed $11.5 million, considerably more than the othetr two petitioning creditors who are owed $161,000 and $50,000.
The federal agenc awarded Protein Sciences the contracf to further develop its FluBlok seasonalp fluvaccine — a product in late-stage testinyg that had been of interest to Emergentg when it offered to buy Protein Sciences as well as a new vaccine treatmenft in development for the swine flu.