Immunizing against risk

Although Emergent BioSolutions Inc. has been a major beneficiary of U.S. government demand for biodefense products, the company decided it needed to broaden both its future investor appeal and its commercial vaccines portfolio. It didn't have far to look to home in on Microscience Ltd., a British vaccine technology and development company. This is because Steven Chatfield and Jonathan Pockson, Emergent's CSO and CFO, held the exact same positions in the British company just 18 months ago.

While Emergent expects to post revenues of more than $100 million this year from contracts to help build and maintain a strategic U.S. anthrax vaccine stockpile, the company would like to reduce its dependence on U.S. biodefense contracts. ...