June 22 (Bloomberg) -- Creditors of Protein Sciences Corp., which started making a vaccine to protect humans against the H1N1 influenza virus last week, filed a petition to force the company into bankruptcy to be liquidated to satisfy claims.

Creditors filed an involuntary Chapter 7 petition against the Meriden, Connecticut-based company listing claims of $11.7 million, according to court documents filed today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware.

There have been more than 40,000 confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus, commonly known as “swine flu,” and 180 deaths confirmed worldwide, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News. The World Health Organization raised its alert on the virus to level six, the highest level, declaring the first influenza pandemic since 1968.

Protein Sciences said in a June 15 statement it started manufacturing “the first and only” vaccine, PanBlok, that would be able to combat the virus, for the next few months. The closely held company said it would be able to produce at least 100,000 doses of the vaccine a week.

The company uses so-called recombinant DNA technology to produce its vaccines, rather than using viruses grown in an egg to create a vaccine as most pharmaceutical companies do.

Last May, Emergent BioSolutions Inc. agreed to acquire “substantially all of the assets” of Protein Sciences after the company was granted “fast-track” status by the Food and Drug Administration for its FluBlok vaccine, according to a statement. As part of the deal, Emergent would pay $28 million in cash and take on Protein Science’s debt, a 5-year note worth $20 million that could be converted to Emergent stock at a price of $12.50 a share, and as much $30 million more if FluBlok sales met certain milestones.

A unit of Emergent holds a bulk of the debt listed on the petition at $11.5 million.

The case is In re Protein Sciences Corp, 09-12151, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware (Wilmington).

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael Bathon in Wilmington, Delaware, at mbathon@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: June 22, 2009 19:08 EDT