October 14, 2005

Imugene grants Merial license for poultry productivity-enhancing product

Australian biopharmaceutical company Imugene has granted Merial an exclusive sub-license agreement to develop and sell its productivity-enhancing product for poultry worldwide.

Merial is a major animal health company worldwide, and a leader in managing poultry health.

During trials, Imugene's productivity enhancer for poultry reportedly showed growth gains of 13.7 percent with an 11.7 percent improvement in food conversion ratio. These results reportedly exceeded that of existing best practices in the industry by up to 15.8 percent.

Imugene said Merial was the best company to market the product as it had experienced product development teams, established sales, marketing and distribution networks, as well as international credibility.

Imugene would receive milestone payments throughout the product development process, as well as royalty payments from product sales after successful commercialisation.                              

Merial would be granted the right to manufacture, market and distribute the product to markets worldwide, including Australia, Japan and New Zealand.