Gaithersburg's Emergent BioSolutions gets European clearance for vaccine development

Emergent BioSolutions, a Gaithersburg biotech firm, has received approval from the European Medicines Agency to proceed with its plans to develop a vaccine for the chikungunya virus, the company announced in a statement this morning. The mosquito-spread virus, also known as chikungunya fever, causes fever, joint pain and rash.

The Emergent BioSolutions vaccine has already shown promise in testing, with up to 98% of test participants developing an antibody response sufficient to neutralize the virus within seven days of receiving the vaccine. A single dose has proven effective for at least one year in laboratory tests so far. Emergent BioSolutions is located at 400 Professional Drive.