Shionogi announced that its U.S. subsidiary, Shionogi Inc., received a contract through the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) Project BioShield related to the cephalosporin antibiotic Fetroja. According to the company, the contract is initially funded at $119 million and includes multi-year options that could increase the total value to as much as $482 million.

Shionogi said the agreement will support establishment of a U.S. drug product manufacturing site for Fetroja, procurement of the therapy, and development of the antibiotic for infections caused by high priority biothreat pathogens including Burkholderia pseudomallei and Yersinia pestis.

The company also said the contract will support efforts to expand Fetroja’s use in pediatric hospital-acquired bacterial pneumonia and ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia through a supplemental New Drug Application.

According to Shionogi, the BARDA award aligns with its broader U.S. expansion efforts including continued investment in antimicrobial research following its acquisition of Qpex Biopharma in 2023 and the establishment of a new research facility in 2025.

The award follows other recent BARDA-backed manufacturing initiatives, including a contract awarded to Just – Evotec Biologics, a subsidiary of Evotec. That agreement is valued at up to $10 million and supports manufacturing optimization for monoclonal antibody therapies targeting Ebola virus disease and Sudan virus.