general information for fellow holders

Nice post there brains71


While there is increasing government regulation in the area, it is likely that consumer demand will drive the replacement of harmful chemicals with biological substitutes in the area of animals reared for food and for pets much faster than government regulation. Imugene has several developed and patented vaccines, three of which are licenced to the world’s biggest animal health company Merial, a joint venture between Aventis and Merck, and others are under negotiation. But Imugene’s jewel in the crown is the new Receptor Mimic Technology – licence acquired some six weeks ago, that competes directly with Chemeq’s ecoli product in the area of pig health. Imugene resembles Chemeq in 2001, which traded at around 45c when its ‘animal intestinal antiseptic’ first came to notice in 2001. Chemeq hit $2.80 the next year, $8 in June 2003 and is currently trading atover $5, with its 20 tonne per annum factory under way after years of successful testing and strong global demand. Size of targeted markets *The global market for pig animal health is worth around $US3.5 billion per annum, with the sector targeted by the Imugene products worth about $US1.5 billion per annum. Within that market Imugene’s E. coli product, which competes directly with Chemeq’s E. coli product,targets a market worth $US450 million. *The poultry products market is worth around $US3.2 billion with Imugene targeting a $US1.2 billion market.*Imugene’s chicken productivity enhancer market is worth about $US1 billion. *Other Imugene vaccine products are worth around $US300 million. *Imugene’s flea control vaccine research is targeting a global market for flea control products worth in excess of $US1.5 billion per annum. An efficient biological vaccine has the potential to immediately gain a large share of this market from the current over the counter chemical treatments. Highly credentialled scientists Imugene’s scientific officers are highly credentialled, closely tied to CSIRO. Dr Kevin Fahey, chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board worked with SmithKline Beecham Animal Health and most recently as Executive Director – Biological Discovery for Pfizer Global R&D. The Chief Scientific Officer Mike Sheppard also spent ten years with Smith Kline Beecham and Pfizer, the world’s largest pharmaceutical company in the US, as Director of Biological Discovery. Dr Colin Hort has been recruited from Novartis Animal Health, one of the world’s Top 10 veterinarypharmaceutical companies. This market report is provided in good faith from sources believed to be accurate and reliable. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What the brokers say Several brokers follow the stock, including Southern Cross Equities in Sydney, EG Capital, Intersuisse, Taylor Collison in Adelaide polymer .. RMT is something of a platform technology…” The broker says if Imugene gets the RMT based first products to market to treat colibacillosis and porcine oedema, “then RMT is worth 38c per Imugene share based on a 10 per cent discount rate and the assumptions that 1) $3m in development costs will be borne by Imugene; 2) Imugene will earn a 6 pct royalty on the product from 2007 and pay a 30 per cent tax rate on this and 3) sales will grow at only 3 per cent p.a. after 2010. Add this tentative 38c valuation for RMT to our existing 40 cps valuation for the restof Imugene, and factor in the likely uplift from commercialisation of the company’s PRRS vaccine … and the current stock price is markedly undervaluing Imugene’s potential. The stock remains a Speculative Buyfor Knowledgeable Professional Investors”. IMUGENE LTD – A SNAPSHOT Imugene Ltd listed in the shell of VosTech in August 2002 after completion of the acquisition of Brightsun Investments Pty Ltd, including the rights and ownership in animal biotech developers VectoGen Ltd (50 pct) and Paragen Pty Ltd (37.5 pct). Imugene now has a diverse portfolio of new and innovative animalhealth products. Brightsun was formed to commercialise projects that had been researched for several years at the Livestock Industries division of the CSIRO and at the Division of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences at Murdoch University. Imugene has two distinct streams of products. One is for the production animal markets (pigs and poultry), the other is for companion animals, developing efficient and biological flea control vaccines. A number of key patents had already been granted in the USA and other countries. In April last year Imugene acquired the balance of shares in its animal husbandry subsidiary VectoGen, inwhich Imugene’s poultry and pig portfolio of products is contained through the issue of 14.745 million shares and the issue of 8,872 Convertible prefs split into Series A, B and C. These convertible preference shares have now been converted into 8,872 ordinary shares. The Receptor Mimic Technology On May 20 2004 Imugene announced it was licensing a new platform technology for the prevention, treatment and diagnosis of gastrointestinal diseases in pigs. The “Receptor Mimic Technology” is a new biological method for disease control and consistent with Imugene’s current range of products under development is safe, residue free and aims to improve --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Imugene’s partner Merial Three of the vaccines are under contract with Imugene’s partner Merial, the jointly owned animal health company of Merck & Aventis. Two contracts relate to Imugene's biological poultry productivity enhancer and a vaccine for a viral disease of poultry, the third contract utilises the adenoviral vector to deliver a potential vaccine against a viral pig disease. (There are about 15 vaccines that fall into that category on the market, Merial have about 12 of them). Two licences for vaccines are under negotiations with global majors.

Below are my personla comments only.....................

At the current share price of 32c, the positive news with the vaccine trial along with the royalty payments due in 2007 from Merial will see this share head over $1 and perhaps into the $2-$3 mark fairly rapidly as did chemeq share price not so long ago.
These are just my thoughts, I do own IMU shares so my views may be somewhat bias so please do your won research.

Good luck to all holders, hopefully some nice news for us tomorrow!!