Barr Labs Builds Virginia Vaccine Plant as Part of $35 Million Department of Defense Contract

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). Barr Laboratories, Incorporated (NYSE:BRL) (Woodcliff Lake, New York) has completed one phase of a $35 million contract they entered into with the United States Department of Defense (DOD) in 2001. The six-year contract calls for the development and manufacturing of adenovirus vaccines (types 4 and 7 tablets) for U.S. Military recruits.

In 1999, the military ran out of supplies of the vaccine, which was formerly manufactured by Wyeth (NYSE: WYE) (Madison, New Jersey). Adenovirus, is a flu-like illness with symptoms that include sore throat, high fever, cough, runny nose, headache and chest pain. Estimates have placed as many as 80 percent of all military recruits being affected by the illness, with 40 percent requiring an extended recuperation period.

Barr began building the 20,000 square foot vaccine manufacturing plant in 2002 at their 72-acre Forest, Virginia campus. The DOD contract provided Barr with over $35 million for Phase I through III clinical development and studies of the Adenovirus Types 4 and 7 vaccines. The contract called for Barr to build a dedicated manufacturing and packaging facility, along with quality control laboratories that would have the ability to produce all needed product from the clinical development/approval process to full production capacity after FDA approval. Approval from the FDA is expected in 2007.

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