NewLink Genetics Surges 3% Following Ebola Contract News

NewLink Genetics Corp (NASDAQ: NLNK) and Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK) on Monday announced a contract for development of an Ebola vaccine.

According to the press release, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded NewLink Genetics' wholly-owned subsidiary, BioProtection Systems, as the prime contractor in a $30 million contract to support the manufacturing and development activities of its investigational rVSV-EBOV (Ebola) vaccine candidate, including clinical development through a new 330-person Phase Ib study.

The vaccine candidate was initially developed by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), and is now being developed under an exclusive licensing and collaboration agreement between NewLink Genetics and Merck. The rVSV-EBOV (Ebola) vaccine candidate is currently being evaluated in Phase I clinical studies in humans.

Merck traded at $59.28, down 0.50 percent

NewLink Genetics traded at $41.19, up 2.7 percent.