FDA Places PharmAthene's Anthrax Vaccine SparVax On Clinical Hold

8/10/2012 1:47 PM ET

PharmAthene Inc. (PIP: Quote) Friday said its anthrax vaccine program, SparVax, has been placed on clinical hold by the US Food and Drug Administration. Shares of PharmAthene plunged 15 percent on the news.

SparVax is a second generation recombinant protective antigen anthrax vaccine. Anthrax is an an acute disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Most forms of the disease are lethal, and affects both humans and animals.

PharmAthene said it has not enrolled any patients for the clinical study of SparVax, which was expected to begin by the end of this year. There have been no adverse events reported, the company noted.

The company said FDA has indicated the company will receive a letter providing details of the basis for the clinical hold within 30 days. During this period, PharmAthene will continue to provide the agency with analytical data from its recently produced GMP lot of material.

Shares of PIP is currently trading on the NYSE at $1.23, down $0.23 or 15.74%, on a volume of 1.2 million shares.

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by RTT Staff Writer

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