BioDiem readies for December IPO

Melbourne biotechnology company BioDiem has lodged a prospectus with ASIC for an AUD$10 million float opening on December 4.

A total of 8 million shares will be offered at a price of $1.25, with a minimum raising of $6 million. The company expects to list on the ASX in mid-January after closing the offer on December 23, according to managing director Tom Williams.

BioDiem has four products in development, Williams said, with two ready for commercialisation and two still under development.

"Our business is a bit different from traditional biotechnology," he said. "We're seeking to leverage other people's resources from early-stage discovery through to marketing to the global markets."

BioDiem has acquired all of its technology from research institutes in St Petersburg, Russia, and is developing it using Australian resources, including collaborations with research institutes and centre of excellence.

"We're involved all the way through but on a virtual basis," Williams said. He noted that the model involved less capital expenditure than having an in-house R&D infrastructure would require.

Ultimately, the company plans to partner with international pharmaceutical companies to take the products through clinical trials and into the market.

Ready to go at the top of the list are two products, an intranasal live influenza vaccine, and a treatment for retinal eye conditions including diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration.

The influenza vaccine -- which is already on the market in Russia -- has the advantage of being needle-free and is produced in a mammalian cell culture system, rather than by the more traditional method of growing the virus in eggs.

The company hopes to have the product licensed to a major pharma company by the end of next year. "We are at the stage of having commenced [early-stage] discussions with possible partners," Williams said.

The second product is a peptide-based retinal treatment, which has also been on the market in Russia for human use. Williams said the company planned to perform studies to validate the results achieved overseas before licensing it out to a partner for clinical development.

Among the company's other products is a compound in pre-clinical development at the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, which shows promise in promoting tissue restoration and repair after heart attack.

The fourth product is a non-antibiotic antimicrobial compound being developed as a growth promoter in poultry in collaboration with the University of Melbourne's Agricultural College.

Early results from the two products are expected in the first quarter of 2004, Williams said.

All four markets are targeting markets that are both around US$1 billion, he said.

"We think we have a model that is very commercially robust. We have four products that address problems that have not been satisfactorily addressed, and we're a fair way down the track in terms of turning products into real commercial value," Williams said.

The float is being managed by eG Capital and EL&C Baillieu.