CSL Seqirus has secured a fresh $121.4 million contract with the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority to manufacture and supply its adjuvanted vaccine against avian flu, bringing their partnership’s total value to $1.14 billion.
In the new multi-year contract, CSL will manufacture 40 million doses of its vaccine, dubbed MF59, at its facility in Holly Springs, NC, according to a Wednesday release.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the “current public health risk is low” for bird flu, with 14 cases reported in people in the US since March 2024. But there have been concerns that rates could ramp up, considering 100 million cases have been identified in poultry across 48 states as of last week. That said, the disease spreads more easily among poultry than people.
This is the fifth bird flu contract CSL has secured with BARDA, and the current tally of $1.14 billion has the potential to increase to $2 billion, according to the US government contract database.
Their partnership started in 2009, which included construction of the Holly Springs facility where CSL manufactures its flu-related products to support BARDA against influenza outbreaks. CSL completed a $156 million expansion of the facility in June 2022.
Both parties extended their partnership multiple times. Most recently, BARDA in May signed yet another contract for CSL to make 4.8 million doses of pre-pandemic influenza vaccine. The original partnership is currently set to end in November 2025 but has potential to be extended to January 2034.
Previously, CSL won a bird flu contract with BARDA in August 2023 to make the H5N8 A/Astrakhan antigen, after securing a similar contract in February 2022. In October 2022, BARDA tapped CSL for another contract worth $30.1 million to manufacture a Phase 2 cell-based, adjuvanted pre-pandemic influenza vaccine.
BARDA is a part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response within the US Department of Health and Human Services.