thirty mill deal clinched by aussie biotech, page-7

Imugene moves to the commercial stage
It is estimated that around the world growers of ‘production animals’ -
that is, animals that serve an economic purpose other than
companionship for humans - spend between US$17 and US$18bn
annually on the health of their flocks or herds. This represents a huge
commercial opportunity for Imugene. Since its June 2003 share
placement at 15 cents per share Imugene has made great strides towards
commercialization of the adenoviral vector technology it in-licensed
from CSIRO Animal Health in 2001. The technology has continued to
enjoy licensing interest from the animal health major Merial, and
Imugene’s scientific collaborators have come up with more powerful
versions of the original adenoviral vectors. Those scientists have,
moreover, used the upgraded vectors to develop a vaccine for the
prevention of Porcine Respiratory and Reproductive Virus, as well as
started work on a vaccine for avian influenza. Meanwhile Imugene has
in-licensed the powerful Receptor Mimic Technology (RMT) that was
developed in Adelaide in the late 1990s. RMT promises among other
things to be a cost effective treatment of E. Coli infection in pigs that
can be developed with low levels of expenditure by Imugene. In this
note we consider the various positive developments we’ve seen at
Imugene over the last twelve months, and revise our valuation of the
stock to better account for the company’s chances of commercial
success across its range of projects. Imugene remains a Speculative
Buy for Knowledgeable Professional Investors, with a target price
of $1.11 per share