imu making progress

from link on imu website.

Imugene makes progress with Merial


Company Name: Imugene

ASX Code: IMU

Southern Cross Equities' attitude: We like it.

Analyst disclosure: This analyst owns shares in Imugene


Location: Sydney
Business: Developing adenovirus-based vectors for immunising pigs and chickens, as well as a flea vaccine
Leadership: Graham Dowland (Chairman), Warwick Lamb (CEO)
Share Price (c): 26.5
Market Cap. of tradeable shares: $27m
Twelve Month Range (c): 32 - 9
No. of shares tradeable: 101.1m
Volume this week (Average weekly volume): 1m (2.6m)
Value this week (Average weekly value): $0.26m ($0.59m)
% below 12 month high: 17.2%


You know that you've made progress with a potential licensee of your technology when that party agrees to a joint communiquÈ. Consequently we were impressed by today's announcement from Imugene, headed Imugene and Merial extend their collaboration agreement. As we've noted previously, Merial, a Franco-American company that is one of the largest makers of animal health products in the world, was granted, in September 2002, 'evaluation and sublicense options' on Imugene's Fowl Adenovirus Vector, as well as similar options over the Australian company's poultry productivity enhancer product (that is, chicken interferon gamma) and its Porcine Adenovirus Vector. Much has happened at Imugene in the meantime, the most important development being the change in 'switches' which has significantly raised the efficiency of Imugene's viral vectors (see our 1 December 2003) email. What this development has necessitated is today's announcement that the Merial options have been extended so that Merial can evaluate Imugene's vectors using the new switch. We take that to be a good sign that Merial continues to be strongly interested in licensing the technology. Of course, we already knew that Merial remained committed to the Imugene technology - bullet point five on the third slide of Imugene's recent presentation to the Annual General Meeting highlighted Merial's 'Strong commitment & support to Imugene' - but Merial has, as it were, now gone public with this support. Merial's head of Research and Technology Acquisition, Bob Nordgren, was quoted in the announcement to this effect. With Imugene kicking goals both on the commercial and scientific front at the moment, and a licensing deal from Merial on the cards for the not-too-distance future (like, possibly, next year depending on how long the trialling takes), the Imugene story remains one to stay close to, particularly since the stock is still discounting our 40 cents per share near-term price target. The stock remains one to own.