BioDiem buys Savine Therapeutics

Melbourne-based vaccine developer company BioDiem (ASX:BDM) has acquired Savine Therapeutics, and the company's antigen technology.

Savine Therapeutics was founded in 2007 to commercialise its Scrambled Anigen Vaccine (Savine) IP, which it acquired from the Australian National University.

Savine is used to design antigens to be used in vaccines. The antigens are ‘scrambled,’ or re-engineered from key proteins, to retain immunologically-relevant characteristics while removing dangerous functions.

The technology was jointly invented by BioDiem's current scientific consultant, Dr Scott Thomspon.

The acquisition includes the Savine technology, the software used to design the antigens and a number of Savine-manufactured genes.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but an ASX filing shows that BioDiem has allocated 111,111 ordinary shares in part payment.

Biodiem CEO Julie Phillips said the company viewed Savine's technology as “highly complementary” to its own IP.

“In our vaccine business the key elements are a virus, a cell line to grow the virus, and antigens,” Phillips said.

“BioDiem now has all of these components through the Live Attenuated Influenza Virus, the mammalian cell line recently licensed and now the acquisition of the Savine antigen technology.”

As well as using Savine internally, BioDiem will also be able to license the technology to third parties, she added.

BioDiem (ASX:BDM) shares stayed flat during Wednesday's trading at $0.084.