biota secures us drug licence

Biota secures US drug licence

Richard Gluyas

December 16, 2005[/B]

BIOTA Holdings has announced a licensing and collaboration agreement with US-based MedImmune to develop a product for the treatment and prevention of the respiratory infection RSV disease.

The deal supports Biota's persistent claim that it is more than a single-product company involved in a big litigation play.

The company is suing GlaxoSmithKline in the Victorian Supreme Court, alleging that GSK breached a licensing agreement to use its best endeavours to market Biota's breakthrough anti-flu drug Relenza.

The case began last year.

However, the legal exchange of documents between both parties, known as discovery, will continue well into next year.

[B]New chief executive Peter Cook announced the MedImmune deal yesterday, saying that it was rare for an Australian biotech company to have scored two global licensing deals. [/B]

[B]"We've hit the bullseye twice,"[/B] he said, as Biota shares gained 6c, or 4.2 per cent, to $1.47.

Biota has developed small-molecule compounds that are candidates for an orally taken drug.

If successfully developed, the products could expand the RSV market from high-risk paediatric patients to other susceptible groups such as older children, the elderly and people who have compromised immune systems.

[B]Under the terms of the agreement, Biota will receive an upfront payment of $US5 million ($6.6 million) and reimbursement of future research and development expenses on the collaborative RSV program.

The company could also receive payments of up to $US107.5 million if certain clinical and regulatory milestones are achieved, as well as a royalty on sales of a future licensed products. [/B]

The efficacy of the compounds has been demonstrated in animals, but human trials are probably two years away.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17581755%255E643,00.html