ID Biomedical buys vaccine company

Canada's ID Biomedical has signed a share purchase agreement to acquireIntellivax, a private, Montreal-based mucosal vaccine delivery company. The transaction includes the acquisition of Intellivax' Baltimore, USA, subsidiary.

Under the terms of the deal, ID will issue 4 million shares of its common stock to Intellivax shareholders. The shares will be subject to an escrow agreement, which will allow them to be released over a period of 24 months. Subject to regulatory approval, the deal is expected to close at the end of May.

Intellivax' lead product is a subunit nasal vaccine to prevent influenza, a prototype of which (using the company's proteosome technology) is currently in a Phase I clinical trial at the University of Rochester, with results expected in the near term.