Australian Government stockpiles an additional 1.6 million courses of Relenza Biota Holdings Limited (ASX:BTA) today announced that the Federal Government has purchased an additional 1.6 million courses of Relenza for the National Medical Stockpile to bolster supplies of antiviral drugs to treat pandemic influenza. The purchase cost is A$43 million. GlaxoSmithKline Australia (GSK) has confirmed that the purchase accurately reflects a supply contract recently signed by GSK with the Federal Government. On completion of the supply contract, the Australian National Medical Stockpile will include 3.4 million courses of Relenza, comprising 33% of the total stockpile of influenza antivirals. Biota earns a 10% royalty on all Australian sales of Relenza. About Biota Biota is a leading anti-infective drug development company based in Melbourne Australia, with key expertise in respiratory diseases, particularly influenza. Biota developed the first-in-class neuraminidase inhibitor, zanamivir, subsequently marketed by GlaxoSmithKline as Relenza. Biota research breakthroughs have included a series of candidate drugs aimed at treatment of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) disease, licensed to AstraZeneca and novel nucleoside analogues designed to treat hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections, licensed to Boehringer Ingelheim. Biota has clinical trials underway with its lead compound for human rhinovirus (HRV) infection in patients with compromised respiration or immune systems. In addition, Biota has a key partnership with Daiichi Sankyo for the development of second generation influenza anti-virals.
