Avantogen/Hawaii Biotech merge vaccs

Australia's Avantogen and Hawaii Biotech, a privately-held company, have entered into a definitive agreement to combine their respective vaccines businesses. The new group, as yet unnamed, will be owned 50% by each partner and will focus exclusively on prophylactic and therapeutic vaccine development.

Under terms of the agreement, Avantogen will contribute $3.5 million in cash, its vaccine adjuvant program (currently in Phase I human trials) and Pentrys vaccine program (currently in Phase II human trials), and its senior management team, while Hawaii Biotech will contribute its vaccine R&D team, its preclinical programs and facilities, its vaccine grant funding, and $1.0 million in cash. Under certain circumstances applicable to both firms, equity ownership of the newly combined company can be adjusted to 60%-40% in either direction, they note.

Hawaii Biotech vaccine background