Emergent BioSolutions to buy Protein Sciences-paper

WASHINGTON, May 26 (Reuters) - Emergent BioSolutions (EBS.N) will announce on Tuesday it is purchasing Protein Sciences Corp, which makes the next generation flu vaccine the government has put on the fast track approval process, The Washington Post reported.

Rockville, Maryland-based Emergent could pay over $75 million for Protein Sciences, based in Meriden, Connecticut, the newspaper said in its Tuesday editions.

Emergent wants to buy Protein Sciences to diversify beyond its biodefense business, the newspaper said.

Protein Sciences' vaccine, called FluBlok, would not rely on chicken eggs to grow the flu virus, the paper said.

The company's vaccine would be grown in insect cells, which would create a more easily manufactured vaccine that can react fast to evolving flu strains and vaccine demand, it said. (Reporting by Tom Doggett, editing by Todd Eatham)