Why Chimerix Stock Is Soaring Today

Chimerix Inc CMRX shares are trading higher Monday after the company won a multi-year contract with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response.

The contract is for the delivery of up to 1.7 million treatment courses of tablet and suspension formulations of TEMBEXA to the U.S. government, featuring an initial product procurement of 319,000 treatment courses for approximately $115 million. 

The contract spans 10 years and contains options for future procurements. It's valued at approximately $551 million if BARDA elects to exercise all options. In addition to product procurement, the contract supports post-marketing activities of approximately $13 million, for a total potential contract value of up to $680 million.

Chimerix entered into an agreement with Emergent BioSolutions in May for the sale of worldwide rights of TEMBEXA for $225 million upfront and potential additional milestones of up to $100 million. Based on the new BARDA agreement, Emergent is expected to pay $238 million upfront, potential milestone payments of up to $124 million and royalties on profits from TEMBEXA sales. 

See Also: Why The OLB Group Shares Are Soaring Today

CMRX Price Action: Chimerix has a 52-week high of $7.02 and a 52-week low of $1.27.

The stock was up 17.2% at $2.53 at press time, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: NIAID from Flickr.