AVEXA may have become a corporate corpse after ditching its HIV...

AVEXA may have become a corporate corpse after ditching its HIV drug program last month, but as a cashed-up cadaver it is attracting interest from helpful parties suggesting other uses for its $23m residual kitty.

Having acquired a 12 per cent Avexa stake, Calzada's voice should be heard in the Avexa boardroom. But who's running the show? At an extraordinary meeting on July 6, holders will vote on a proposal by a mysterious gaggle of investors to remove chairman Nathan Drona and elect two of their own candidates.

"We think it is an interesting situation," says Calzada chairman David Franklyn. "The company has a reasonable amount of cash and it's looking for a future direction."

Here's one: more work on a revamped version of Calzada's fat-fighting compound AOD9604, which famously failed in orally delivered form in 2007, when Calzada was known as Metabolic.

Since then, a counterfeit injectable version has been sold to bodybuilders for up to $2500 a gram. Calzada has already allocated a small amount to salvage value from AOD9604, if only to investigate patent breaches.

Avexa's $23m would go a long way to funding an injectable trial -- and they only have to hang around gyms to find candidates.

Franklyn concurs the fat-fighting stuff has "potential", but so too does Calzada's Polynovo arm, which is developing biodegradable polymers for applications such as burns.

Meanwhile, Avexa holders are in the dark about the motives of the dissident holders, who haven't outlined how they will use the cash. We had Calzada as a spec buy at 3.5c on March 2 and maintain the call.

Avexa remains an avoid as the vultures fight over the scraps.

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