agm today, page-4

Nice summary.

It was well worth attending the AGM. They present very well and were very forthcoming with both questions presented beforehand along with questions from shareholders.

Response to Nasdaq listing: A very detailed response was provided and they have obviously looked into this at some depth. Reasons as stated in the previous post, it's not as easy as simply wanting to list, they need to "americanise" the company to some extent, and have a requirement for capital (it's a nice position to be in when the coffers are overflowing and a biotech has to return money to shareholders!). Their strategy is to attract international investors, Peter Cook will do a roadshow of sorts in the US to some insto's in a week or two... keep an eye on the register!

Overall the body language was very positive, and although we didn't get any additional information about "deals" the wheels are certainly in motion, mention of discussions "initiated" and "promising" during the presentation. Hopefully before June next year, a reason provided for the length of time it takes is due to the extensive due dilligence required by pharma before forking out alot of cash.

Some interesting slides in the presentation, especially the update to market size, I saw USD8bn globally for stockpiling, USD1bn replacement and USD0.8bn seasonal use. Exciting part about seasonal market is the Japanese growth which with my eyesight looking at a bar chart was around 250m, growth which was mentioned driven by GSK, the plan is to roll out to other countries in future. A big development in my view as it's obvious that GSK see the potential in the seasonal market, perhaps the stockpiling is easier to sell but with the massive increase in consumer/doctor awareness around anti-virals why not target the seasonal markets. The stockpiling market is absolutely massive.

Great to see resolutions passes with such conviction, the floor also all supported resolutions from what I could see (I think 2 people voted against the rem, one due to not receiving an annual report). Shareholders seemed very happy with management and progress, and why shouldn't they be. It's been a cracking year with progress on HRV, LANI, Relenza, buyback, capital return, expansion of pipeline etc.... this management team is worth every penny, they are building a long term sustainable biotechnology company, and we get to tag on for the ride.

Nice to meet some fellow shareholders, a common theme of views is that Biota is at the right place at the right time with the right people at the helm. Watch this space.

Off to feed the baby now... it's been a long day...