Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE: EBS) announced a $34.5 million agreement with Substipharm Biologics to manufacture drug substance for a Japanese Encephalitis vaccine at its Canton, Massachusetts facility and serve as exclusive distributor to the U.S. government pending FDA approval.

Under the manufacturing services agreement, Emergent will conduct operational and regulatory activities and produce drug substance to support Substipharm's U.S. regulatory submission for the IMOJEV vaccine. The companies also entered a distribution agreement granting Emergent exclusive rights to distribute the vaccine to the U.S. government upon FDA approval.

The Canton facility received a "No Action Indicated" status classification from the FDA following a February 2026 inspection. Emergent has begun scale-up efforts at the BSL-2 facility and plans to hire additional employees later this year.

IMOJEV is a Japanese Encephalitis vaccine developed by Substipharm that has been used in several Asian countries since 2012. Japanese Encephalitis is a mosquito-borne viral disease endemic in parts of Asia and the Western Pacific. The vaccine is not currently approved for use in the United States.

Emergent has previously manufactured IMOJEV drug substance for international markets and continues to manage product inventory at the Canton facility for Substipharm. The partnership aims to support potential U.S. market entry for the vaccine following regulatory approval.

Substipharm Biologics, based in Geneva, Switzerland, operates the vaccines and biologics division of French healthcare group Substipharm, which was established in 1995 and operates in over 100 countries.