Biota acquires antibacterial assets of Prolysis and of MaxThera

Australia's Biota Holdings announced two deals this morning that will greatly expand its pipeline of potentially life-saving drugs after agreeing to buy two life-sciences businesses, UK-based Prolysis and USA-based MaxThera.

The company, which developed the anti-flu drug Relenza marketed by UK drug giant GlaxoSmithKline, also confirmed at its annual meeting this morning it had plenty of cash in the bank to deliver on a promised $20 million capital return to shareholders.

Under the terms of its agreement with Prolysis, an antibacterial drug discovery company, Biota will acquire the key assets and programs for:

' A$10.8m ($9.9 million) as Biota ordinary shares, of which 60% will be subject to a 12 month escrow period; and
' The ability to receive up to a 15% share in all milestone and royalties earned on commercialization with Biota retaining all upfront payments on licensed programs.

Prolysis was originally founded on the work of Jeff Errington, previously of Oxford University and now the Director of the Institute for Cell and Molecular Biosciences at Newcastle University. Biota's board intends to extend an invitation to Prof Errington to join the Board at a yet to be determined but mutually convenient time, some stage in the future.