Autogen becomes AGT Biosciences

As the final step in a process of transformation that has taken almost a year, Victorian gene discovery company Autogen (ASX: AGT) has rebadged itself as AGT Biosciences.

"It's the culmination of the repackaging of the company," CEO, Prof Greg Collier, said. "We decided rebranding would help investors focus on the changes rather than the old management."

The transformation began in June last year when Brisbane-based venture capital group Charter Pacific acquired a 19.9 per cent majority share in the company, buying out mining magnate Joseph Gutnick's stake in the company. Charter Pacific increased its holdings to 33 per cent in January this year during a share placement which raised AGT Biosciences $AUD6.65 million. New board management was swiftly implemented after the buyout, adding Charter Pacific CEO, Kevin Dart, as a director and Brett Heading as acting chairman, as well as appointing Collier as the CEO and managing director.

"The company has been significantly strengthened by a board and management team who are experienced in biotechnology and high technology companies with a strong commitment to sustainable growth in shareholder value," Collier said.

Going hand in hand with the management changes has been the development of a new strategy for growth of the company. To date, Collier told Australian Biotechnology News recently, the company has focused on discovering and validating target genes for therapeutic drug development in a number of areas.

At the forefront is its diabetes and obesity program, which has identified 49 genes of which four have been selected for fast-tracked clinical development by partner Merck-Sante.

"Everything set up to date has been set up to generate validated targets to sell to pharmaceutical partners," he said. The company is currently looking for partners for its other big focus, anxiety and depression.

But in the future, Collier said, AGT Biosciences is planning to slowly move further down the path of drug development, by forming joint ventures or even by merging or acquiring companies with complementary capabilities, rather than just providing targets to pharmaceutical partners.

While the previous management was not particularly interested in growth, Collier said, the new management is willing to consider opportunities that add value to the company.

The conservative approach has meant that the company has built a revenue base that can feed the R&D program, and Collier expects the company to become cash-flow positive this financial year.

A key component of the company's strategy is its fee-for-service eXpress Technology platform which offers high throughput identification and functional analysis of disease-related genes. According to Collier, the platform has attracted significant interest from international pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

The company has also begun the process of obtaining a level 2 American Depositary Receipt (ADR) NASDAQ listing, which Collier hopes will provide further access to capital raising opportunities in the lucrative US market.

And the US push brings with it another reason to rename the company AGT Biosciences, as there is already a company called Autogen in the US biotechnology sector.

The listing carries a significant commitment by the company, with the need to do investor road shows four to six times a year for at least the next three years, Collier said.

The company has already set up shop in the US, with the establishment of the Centre for Human Statistical Genetics under the control of scientific advisory board member John Blangero at the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research in San Antonio, Texas.