Biota confirms Relenza orders from US, France, Hong Kong

Melbourne-based Biota Holdings (ASX:BTA) has confirmed that three more countries have placed orders for Relenza, the anti-flu drug developed by Biota and commercialised by Britain's GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).

It has been reported that the US Department of Health and Human Services has awarded a US$2.8 million contract to GSK for 84,300 treatment courses of Relenza (zanamivir). Biota confirmed that the USA has ordered 84,300 packs of Relenza, while France has ordered 200,000 packs and Hong Kong has ordered 150,000 packs.

"To be honest, the France and Hong Kong orders were surprises to us," said Biota CFO Damian Lismore. "In saying that, we are hopeful that there will be more. The fact that we're starting to see some movement in a few different countries is a real positive."

Biota is currently suing GSK for up to AUD$430 million, alleging that the pharmaceutical company failed to promote and support Relenza in the five years since it was launched.

Biota previously confirmed that the German government has ordered 1.7 million units of Relenza. Relenza normally sells for AUD$26 per pack in Germany and Biota earns a 7 per cent royalty from Relenza sales.

It has also been reported that the Dutch Health Ministry ordered five million doses of anti-viral medicines, including Relenza, for stockpiling in event of an influenza epidemic. Biota could confirm that an order from Holland has been received but further disclosure was 'not allowed at this stage'.

Due to confidentiality, Lismore could not say how much the orders were worth, although he said that there tended to be a link between price and quantity. Biota will gain access to this information when royalties are payable.

News of the orders has boosted Biota's share price this month. At press time, shares were trading at AUD$0.97, up from around the $0.70 mark earlier this month and lows of around $0.40 in April and May.

Vaccine stockpiling

Meanwhile, French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis has won a US$100 million contract from the US government for the supply of vaccine against the H5N1 strain of bird flu virus. The GSK and Sanofi-Aventis purchases are part of the US government's plan to buy enough vaccine for 20 million people and enough antivirals for another 20 million, but just how many people can be treated with the vaccine is still to be determined by ongoing clinical trials.

Sanofi's experimental vaccine is the most advanced among a number in development against the H5N1 bird flu strain, which scientists fear could trigger a global flu pandemic. The vaccine has already proved effective at stimulating an immune system response in healthy adults.

The most widely stockpiled antiviral is Roche's Tamiflu, or oseltamivir, which Washington has purchased previously.

The H5N1 strain has so far killed more than 60 people in Asia since 2003, mainly through direct contact with birds, but experts fear it will mutate into a mass killer of millions if it starts to spread easily from person to person.

-- Additional reporting by Reuters