Sydney - Wednesday - Nov 23: (RWE Australian Business News) -...

Sydney - Wednesday - Nov 23: (RWE Australian Business News) -
Nobilon International, part of Akzo Nobel's Pharma group, has entered
into a licensing agreement with Australian pharmaceutical development
company BioDiem Ltd.
Under the agreement, Nobilon - which was set up by Akzo Nobel in
2003 as a strategic move into the human vaccines market - will pay a
total of up to $US8 million (including milestone payments over the next
few years) for exclusive rights to manufacture, market and sell
BioDiem's intranasal influenza vaccine worldwide, with the exception of
Russia, the CIS countries and North America, where BioDiem retains the
rights to market and sell the vaccine.
Sales and marketing rights in Japan will be shared, subject to
future agreement between BioDiem and Nobilon.
Royalties based on sales are payable to BioDiem.
The agreement gives Nobilon access to BioDiem's technological
expertise in influenza vaccines and will enable the development of a new
generation of flu vaccines based on cell-culture technology that offer a
patient friendly method of administration.
The vaccine is not expected on the market until around 2010.