Animal Health Deal Archives

Elanco and Altair Nanotechnologies: May 2006
Elanco and Altair Nanotechnologies Inc. (www.altairnano.com) have entered into a Collaborative Research, License and Commercialization Agreement that provides Elanco with exclusive rights to develop animal health products using Altair Nano's nanotechnology-based products. According to a press release, payments may be made to Altairnano as predefined development and testing milestones are met, including submission to the FDA and FDA approval. Additional payments may commence with market introduction and product sales. Altairnano has specific rights with respect to the manufacture of products for Elanco. (Back to Top)


ViaGen and Encore Gentics: March 2006
ViaGen Inc. (www.viagen.com), a company specializing in livestock cloning, and Encore Genetics (www.encoregenetics.com), which specializes in genetic services for horse breeders, announced a partnership to create the first commercial horse cloning operation in the US. The companies also announced the births of two cloned horses in Oklahoma, on 19 February 2006 and 9 March 2006, and said that other pregnancies are progressing. They have sold horse clones in other parts of the world and have gene-banked more than 75 champion horses from multiple breeds and disciplines. (Back to Top)


Phytopharm plc and Schering-Plough Animal Health: January 2006
Phytopharm (www.phytopharm.com) and Schering-Plough Animal Health have entered into a global marketing and distribution agreement for Phytopica™, a natural three plant patented product developed specifically for canine skin health. Under the agreement, Phytopharm will be responsible for manufacturing and selling the product to Schering-Plough which will be responsible for its global sales, marketing and distribution. (Back to Top)


Bioject Medical Technologies and Merial Inc.: January 2006
Bioject(www.bioject.com), a developer of needle-free drug delivery systems, and Merial have entered into three additional agreements with Merial. As part of these agreements, Bioject will perform feasibility analyses for a next generation Vetjet™ device for companion animals, and analyses of devices for production animal and poultry markets. The two companies now have collaborations for Bioject's Vetjet™ product and its production animal product. Thus far they have commercialized one product. (Back to Top)


Crucell and Merial: December 2005
The Dutch biotechnology company Crucell (www.crucell.com) announced a second PER.C6® research license agreement with Merial. This recent agreement gives Merial the right to use the PER.C6 cell line to develop gene therapy in a specific companion animal medicine field. A commercial license agreement option is included in the deal. The initial licensing deal of October 2004 allowed Merial to use PER.C6® to develop and commercialize veterinary foot-and-mouth disease vaccines. (Back to Top)

Sequenom, Inc. and GeneSeek, Inc.: December 2005
GeneSeek, Inc. (www.geneseek.com) and Merial have agreed to conduct large-scale DNA genotyping in cattle. The two companies are collaborating to develop seamless and high-throughput platforms to support research and for commercial diagnostic purposes, including sample collection, sample preparation, SNP genotyping, data processing and data management. Initially, the collaboration will focus on a demonstration trial of over 50,000 cattle to illustrate the value of these new genotyping platforms. GeneSeek purchased Sequenom's (www.sequenom.com) proprietary MassARRAY® genetic analysis system for animal diagnostic testing, traceability and contract research and development. GeneSeek plans to use this system in support of the collaboration with Merial. (Back to Top)


Avidis and Merial: November 2005
Avidis (www.avidis.fr) and Merial have signed an animal vaccine agreement that allows Merial to use aXent™ (an adjuvant-free immunization technology) to develop new recombinant animal vaccines. The agreement includes the use of aXent™ for two infectious diseases as well as the possibility of acquiring exclusive rights through further license agreements. (Back to Top)


GangaGen Life Sciences and Elanco Animal Health: September 2005
GangaGen Life Sciences Inc. (www.gangagen.ca) and Elanco Animal Health have signed a collaboration research, license and commercialization agreement to develop anti-bacterial products derived from phages (bacteriophages). The companies plan to develop and commercialize phage-based human and animal health products to control bacteria. Initially, they will focus on the development of a product to control E. coli in cattle since there are currently no effective treatments on the market to reduce bacterial pathogens in food animals. (Back to Top)


Scynexis and Merial: September 2005
Scynexis, Inc. (www.scynexis.com) has formed collaboration with Merial by which Scynexis will serve as Merial’s primary animal health discovery research partner in creating veterinary medicines. The collaboration is the first animal-health deal for Scynexis. The agreement could run up to 15 years and result in $150 million in research funding. Additionally, milestone and royalty payments will be made to Scynexis as research milestones are reached and sales from commercial products result from Scynexis' pharmaceutical research. Research undertaken as a result of the agreement will focus primarily on treatments for cats, dogs and horses and, when completed, will become part of Scynexis’ database. (Back to Top)

Dow AgroSciences and Chlorogen: September 2005
Dow AgroSciences LLC (www.dowagro.com) has entered into two research agreements with the biopharmaceutical company Chlorogen, Inc. that could lead to commercial licenses to use chloroplast transformation technology (CTT™), a unique method for expressing foreign genes in plant cells, in Dow AgroSciences' animal health and agricultural biotechnology businesses. Dow AgroSciences will work with Chlorogen to use CTT to produce animal health products in plant cell cultures. Dow AgroSciences is pursuing this technology to create a new generation of animal health vaccines. Also, the two companies will work together using CTT to express Dow AgroSciences' proprietary traits in agricultural crops. (Back to Top)

Elanco Animal Health/GangaGen: September 2005
Elanco Animal Health and GagaGen Life Sciences Inc. (www.gangagen.ca), a developer of anti-infection therapeutics for the control of disease-causing bacteria, have signed a collaborative research, license and commercialization agreement to develop anti-bacterial products derived from bacteriophages, or phages. GangaGen’s emphasis is on eliminating pathogenic E. coli in cattle before the animal is slaughtered. (Back to Top)

MerLion Pharmaceuticals/Merck & Co., Inc.: July 2005
MerLion Pharmaceuticals Pte Ltd. (www.merlionpharma.com) of Singapore has extended the term of its existing collaboration with Merck & Co., Inc. to discover and develop new human health drug candidates derived from natural products chemistry for an additional two years. The extension increases the number of validated drug targets under research, and interestingly, extends the alliance to include new animal health care products. Merck & Co. and Aventis Sanofi are the parent companies of Merial. (Back to Top)

Merial Ltd. and CUP Lab: May 2005
Merial has entered into a marketing agreement with the National Centralized Ultrasound Processing (CUP) Lab (www.cuplab.com). Under the agreement, CUP Lab will be able to market IGENITY™ DNA genetic tests to beef seedstock producers. This provides an excellent fit with CUP’s primary business of providing beef carcass ultrasound to producers. (Back to Top)

Merial and Select Sires: May 2005
Merial (www.merial.com) announced an agreement with Select Sires Inc., North America’s largest A.I. company, to co-market IGENITY DNA tests and services to the dairy industry. Select Sires will also have exclusive access to all IGENITY tests for the purpose of young dairy sire selection in North America. Under the agreement, both companies will also collaborate on research to develop new DNA tests and services. (Back to Top)

Orion Pharma/Pfizer: April 2005
Orion Pharma and Pfizer have expanded their development and commercialization efforts in the field of animal health sedation and pain management. The new agreement allows Pfizer (www.pfizer.com) to add major markets, i.e. China and Latin America, to its marketing territory. Orion Pharma and Pfizer will also collaborate on the clinical development of Domosedan, used for the sedation of horses, and Domitor, used for companion animals. (Back to Top)

Geron/Exeter Life Sciences: April 2005
Geron Corporation and Exeter Life Sciences have formed a new joint venture, stART Licensing, Inc., to manage and license intellectual property rights related to animal reproductive technologies. This includes the full rights under the Roslin nuclear transfer cloning technology developed for the cloning of Dolly the sheep.Geron (www.geron.com) is also giving the new joint venture patents to related Geron funded developments from animal cloning work at the Roslin Institute. Exeter is providing the rights received from PPL Therapeutics, Inc. to use the Roslin technology for producing proteins in animal milk and other cloning technologies. (Back to Top)

Merial and PR Pharmaceuticals: March 2005
PR Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company, announced the formation of an alliance with Merial for the development of animal health products using PR Pharmaceuticals’ sustained release formulation and manufacturing technologies. Under the agreement, PRP (www.prpharma.com)gave Merial exclusive worldwide rights to develop, register, market and distribute products using their unique technologies. (Back to Top)

Large Scale Biology Corporation and Schering-Plough Animal Health: February 2005
LSBC (www.lsbc.com) and Schering-Plough Animal Health (SPAH) extended their research collaboration agreement so that SPAH can fund additional product development at LSBC on animal health vaccines. Under the original October 2003 agreement, LSBC has delivered trial quantities of the vaccines using their patented GENEWARE® biomanufacturing technology (a method using non-transgenic, non-food/fodder plants as production hosts) to SPAH for clinical evaluation. (Back to Top)

Pfizer Animal Health and Cytos Biotechnology AG: January 2005
Pfizer and Swiss firm Cytos Biotechnology AG (www.cytos.com) have signed a research and commercial license option agreement for a new class of biopharmaceutical products. Pfizer gets exclusive access to two Immunodrugs developed by Cytos for use in animals. Immunodrugs work by telling the immune system to produce a desired therapeutic antibody or cytotoxic T-cell responses that can alter chronic disease processes. Under the agreement, Pfizer will make an up-front payment and Cytos can earn milestones and additional fees when the commercial license is executed, upon technology transfer for GMP manufacturing, and on supply and approval in major markets. Cytos will also earn royalties on Pfizer net sales upon successful product(s) launch. In addition, Pfizer can provide its own disease antigens for other indications and has first refusal of any new animal products in the same area developed by Cytos. (Back to Top)

Vivalis and Ceva Santé Animale: January 2005
Vivalis (www.vivalis.com), a world specialist in embryonic stem cells, has announced that it has granted Ceva Santé Animale rights to its avian EBx stem cell lines for use in producing viral vaccines for veterinary use. Financial terms were not disclosed. (Back to Top)

ImmuCell Corp. Corp. and Pfizer Animal Health: December 2004
ImmuCell Corp. (www.immucell.com) has granted an exclusive license to Pfizer Animal Health to market Mast Out®, a Nisin-based antibiotic treatment for mastitis in lactating dairy cows. Currently, the U.S. dairy industry loses an estimated $2 billion a year because milk obtained from cows during treatment with antibiotics must be discarded, a disadvantage of currently approved antibiotic treatments. Efficacy trials are expected to begin in the first half of 2005. (Back to Top)

Themis Medicare and Schering-Plough Animal Health: December 2004
Themis Medicare Ltd., an Indo-Hungarian Pharmaceutical Company engaged in the manufacturing and marketing of bulk drugs, drug intermediates and formulations, has signed a long-term agreement with Schering-Plough Animal Health Corporation, USA, for a new drug delivery system. Under the agreement, Themis would transfer ownership rights, title and interests, patent rights and formulations to SPAH. SPAH would also have access to the technical know-how and raw materials for product development. No other details were provided. It is interesting to note that Themis Medicare (www.themismedicare.com) holds a patent for the preparation of selective cyclooxygenase II inhibitors (COX 2). (Back to Top)

Merial and Bioject: December 2004
As part of a March 2004 collaboration agreement, Merial has given Bioject Medical Technologies Inc. (www.bioject.com) a milestone payment for its use of a modified version of Bioject’s Vitajet® needle-free delivery system for cats and dogs. Payment was based upon regulatory approval of a Merial vaccine that will be administered using the system. Also, a second milestone payment was earned by Bioject for its delivery of ten prototype devices to Merial. (Back to Top)

MorphoSys AG and Novoplant GmbH: July 2004
MorphoSys AG and Novoplant GmbH signed a collaboration for the development of therapeutic antibodies in animal health applications. Under the three-year agreement, Novoplant received a license from MorphoSys for developing and commercializing therapeutic antibodies as feed components. Novoplant will pay a technology access fee to MorphoSys for Novoplant’s HuCAL GOLD technology in addition to annual licensing fees, milestone fees and royalties.(Back to top)

MetaMorphix Inc./Monsanto Co.: June 2004
MetaMorphix Inc. (MMI) chose BIO 2005 in June to announce a collaboration with Monsanto Inc. The companies will be focusing on applying genomic technologies to provide genetic improvements in pork. Monsanto will “use MMI’s SNP-mapping capability to identify precise locations of the genome responsible for several economically important meat quality, health, reproduction and production traits.” MMI also announced that its existing collaboration with Caprock Cattle Feeders and Excel Corporation (both part of Cargill, Incorporated) resulted in “the first whole cattle genome association study” and tools to “identify cattle that meet consumer demands for quality meat products.” (Back to top)

Informatica Corporation /Global Animal Management Inc. (subsidiary of Schering-Plough Corp.): May 2004
Informatica Corporation (Redwood City, CA, www.informatica.com), a company that provides data integration software, announced that Schering-Plough’s Global Animal Management Inc. (Kenilworth, NJ, www.schering-plough.com) subsidiary, is using VeriSource™, Informatica’s “animal lifecycle management solution,” to integrate data from cattle, swine, dairy, poultry, sheep, goat and cervidae producers. While this is not a “deal” in the traditional sense, it illustrates the fact that tremendous amounts of data exist in production-animal databases, and that there is business value in collecting, transporting, storing, and processing those data for various applications, including compliance initiatives such as the national Animal Identification Plan. (Back to top)

AspenBio and Washington University: May 2004
AspenBio, Inc. has entered into an exclusive license agreement for a portfolio of approximately 83 patents, inactive patents, and patents pending, developed over the last fifteen years by Washington University (St. Louis, MO). The portfolio contains patents AspenBio believes can potentially be applied to reproduction in all mammals. The term of the agreement is tied to the life of the last patent to expire, which is expected to be approximately 20 years. The lead scientist has been Dr. Irving Boime, who focused his work on structure-function issues of the pituitary and placental glycoprotein hormones. The portfolio consists of technology associated with mammalian reproduction and the creation of recombinant drugs to enhance conception and pregnancy rates. AspenBio notes that Dr. Boime has designed modified reproductive hormones in such a way that biological activity and circulatory half-life can be modulated dramatically. For example, he has created highly stable gonadotropin analogs with improved biological activity. Previously, commercialization of these biologicals has only been pursued in human medicine. According to AspenBio, initial field trials are taking place in horses and dairy cattle beginning in 2004. (Back to top)

Bioforce Nanosciences, Inc./Fort Dodge Animal Health: March 2004
BioForce Nanosciences, Inc. (Ames IA, www.bioforcenano.com), a developer of nanoscale biodiagnostics is collaborating with Fort Dodge Animal Health (Overland Park, KS) to test BioForce’s ViriChip™ concept for use as a quality control measure in vaccine production. The ViriChip™ is a solid-phase method of virus and pathogen detection and identification that combines immunological recognition with ultra-sensitive detection using surface profiling. This method will be used to assess the quality of vaccine formulations during production. Unlike other virus detection methods, which rely on amplification steps and signal enhancers, the ViriChip is able to directly detect and inspect virus particles. Dr. Saju Nettikadan, a Senior Research Scientist at BioForce, explains, “The ViriChip represents a major innovation in virus detection methodology. The ViriChip allows us to visualize the integrity of the vaccine products, a factor potentially related to vaccine efficacy.” (Back to top)

Pfizer/CSL: March 2004
Pfizer Animal Health (www.pfizer.com/do/mn_animal.html) has acquired CSL Animal Health, a division of CSL Limited (Melbourne, Australia) for $126.2 million in cash. The deal included the CSL company Biocor (www.biocorah.com), an animal health vaccine firm based in Omaha, Nebraska. According to a Pfizer press release, the acquisition goes beyond strengthening Pfizer's presence in the Australian marketplace. CSL has manufacturing facilities in Australia and New Zealand, its own sales force, and a research arm. CSL products include mmunosterilzation vaccines such as Improvac®, a nonsurgical alternative to castration to boar taint; and Equity®, for the control of estrus in non-breeding horses. It is expected that Pfizer plans to commercialize some of the CSL portfolio globally. (Back to top)

TransForm Pharmaceuticals and Ft. Dodge Animal Health: March 2004
TransForm has entered into an agreement with Ft. Dodge Animal Health for exclusive rights to TransForm's proprietary formulation of an anesthetic for veterinary use. Under this agreement, Ft. Dodge will be responsible for commercializing the product. (Back to top)

Merial Ltd.: Multiple Deals
March 2004: Bioject Medical Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: BJCT), a leading developer of needle-free drug delivery systems, announced today that it has signed a second license and supply agreement with Merial, a world-leading animal health company. The new agreement follows an initial supply and license agreement with Merial signed in August 2002 for a newly-developed veterinary focused needle-free injector system for food-producing animals.
May 2004: Vical Incorporated (San Diego, CA) has granted an exclusive license to Merial Ltd. (Duluth, GA) for use of Vical's patented DNA delivery technology in a vaccine to protect certain companion animals against a particular type of cancer. Under the new agreement, Merial will make an upfront cash payment to Vical as well as milestone payments as the product is developed, and royalties on sales of the resulting product. Vical and Merial have a prior agreement covering the use of Vical's patented DNA delivery technology in vaccines to prevent certain infectious diseases in livestock and companion animals
June 2004: Transgene (Nasdaq: TRGNY; Nouveau Marché: FR0005175080) and Merial announced a collaboration to develop products for animal health indications using Transgene‘s vector platform. Under the terms of the agreement, Transgene will provide Merial with research and development support regarding vector-based expression of certain genes selected by Merial.
August 2004: Merial announced an agreement to acquire “certain tests and services” from Frontier Beef Systems, Louisville, Colorado. The acquisition added to Merial’s portfolio of tests and services marketed under Merial's IGENITY brand, a cattle DNA testing service launched in 2003.
September 2004: Merial further expanded its Igenity portfolio via a licensing agreement with BoviQuest, a New Zealand dairy genomics company. The agreement involves gene marker tests identifying milk yield and composition. The new tests are IGENITY OptiYIELD™ and IGENITY ComponentMAKER™.
October 2004: CRXL has licensed technology to Merial to develop and commercialize veterinary vaccines for foot-and-mouth disease. Crucell will receive an upfront payment, milestone payments, annual maintenance fees, and royalties on sales of vaccines, but financial terms weren't disclosed.

Elanco/Acrux (24 September 2003): Transdermal Drug Delivery
Elanco (www.elanco.com), the animal health division of Eli Lilly, has entered into a ~$10 million licensing deal with the Australian drug-delivery firm Acrux DDS Pty. Ltd. (www.acrux.com.au) to develop Acrux’ transdermal applicator for the animal health market. Acrux was founded in 1998 to focus on developing products to enable delivery of approved drugs through the skin. Under the terms of the deal, Acrux is to receive a $1 million upfront payment, ~$8.75 in milestone-based payments, and royalties from sales of future products. According to an Acrux press release, “after Elanco conducted an evaluation exploring the use of Acrux’s technology, they decided to pursue the development for a range of animal healthcare therapeutics.” (Back to top)

Quantum Genetics, Inc./Merial Ltd. (30 July 2003): DNA Test for Production Traits
Quantum (no website) and Merial (www.merial.com) have entered into what they term a global marketing agreement by which Merial has received exclusive rights to market Quantum’s new patent-pending DNA test to determine an animal’s leptin genotype. According to Merial, “this genotype knowledge will lead to significant insights when coupled with other important selection and management tools to produce quality proteins sought by consumers.”

The deal also encompasses the rights to applications based on the knowledge gained as a result of acquiring that information. The leptin gene is implicated in weight regulation and fat. Variants in beef cattle are related to marbling, and therefore have an impact on flavor of beef. Additional research has indicated that leptin genotype variability may be related to the regulation of feed intake, energy balance, milk production, milk components, marbling scores, fertility and immune functions in cattle. Merial has launched the commercialized product, Igenity™-L (www.igenity.com), in Canada and the US. The test costs $60, or $55 if ordered online. It is the first DNA test for a production trait that has been brought to market by one of the leading animal health companies. (Back to top)

ViaGen Inc./ ProLinia Inc. (30 June 2003): Animal Genetics Services
Viagen (www.viagen.com), a company active in livestock genomics and assisted breeding, has acquired ProLinia, a company known for its work in cloning livestock to improve the overall genetics of breeding herds. The deal is an example of a growing trend in biotechnology –deals between smaller companies.

Aside from its scientific expertise, ProLinia brings its technology development contract with hog producer Smithfield Foods to the deal as well as its nonexclusive license from Geron Corporation (www.geron.com) for the use of nuclear transfer technology for agricultural purposes. The license grants worldwide rights for applications of the Geron technology in hogs and worldwide rights, excluding Australia and New Zealand, for applications in cattle. According to a ViaGen press release, ViaGen Cofounder and President Scott Davis noted, “it’s hard to imagine a more attractive partner for ViaGen than ProLinia. In the biotech business, it’s rare to find a single company that allows you to significantly boost your cash flow, fortify your scientific team, and gain access to patent rights in one fell swoop. Acquiring Prolinia brings us all of these things.” (Back to top)

Nabi Biopharmaceuticals/Pharmacia Animal Health (Pfizer Animal Health)
(14 April 2003): S. Aureus Vaccine Technology
Just prior to the finalization of the deal by which Pfizer acquired Pharmacia, Nabi Biopharmaceuticals (www.nabi.com) licensed its Staphylococcus aureus whole cell vaccine technology to Pharmacia Animal Health (www.pfizer.com/ah/) for development as a bovine mastitis product. S. aureus is one of the most significant causes of bovine mastitis, which is believed to cost the US dairy industry $1.8 - $2 billion annually. According to a Nabi Biopharmaceuticals press release, Pharmacia Animal Health made an upfront cash payment and Pfizer will make future cash payments when specified milestones are achieved.
(Back to top)

AspenBio/Merial Ltd. (31 March 2003): Pregnancy Detection in Cattle
An exclusive agreement between AspenBio (www.aspenbio.com) and Merial Ltd. (www.merial.com) gives Merial the rights to market and distribute AspenBio's pregnancy-detection blood test. An AspenBio press release explains that the test is designed to be used approximately 18 days after insemination to determine the early pregnancy status of dairy and beef cattle. Details of the deal were not disclosed in the press release. (Back to top)

SomaLogic/Merial Ltd. (27 January 2003): Aptamer-based BSE Testing
SomaLogic (www.somalogic.com), a proteomics company, and Merial Ltd. (www.merial.com) announced a research collaboration to develop aptamer-based diagnostics for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), known popularly as mad cow disease. Aptamers are single-stranded DNA molecules that can bind target molecules with high affinity and specificity. Financial terms were not disclosed. (Back to top)

TransOva/GTC Biotherapeutics (2 January 2003): Antibodies for cattle diseases
TransOva (www.transova.com), which specializes in embryo transfer, in vitro fertilization, and beef herd development services, announced a licensing agreement with GTC Biotherapeutics, Inc. (www.transgenics.com) in January 2003. Their agreement grants TransOva exclusive rights to develop the production of veterinary antibodies, initially for three cattle diseases. TransOva will contract with GTC to develop cattle that produce the antibodies in their milk. Trans Ova is also making human serum albumin in milk and working on developing transgenic beef breeds for making human polyclonal antibodies. GTC has developed transgenic goats that express therapeutic proteins in milk. The company has a number of products in development. Its recombinant human antithrombin III (rhATIII) program is in advanced clinical studies in the UK in patients with a hereditary antithrombin deficiency. GTC serves as a contract manufacturer as well. (Back to top)


Intervet/Oxford BioMedica (January 2003) – Anti-Cancer Therapy
Intervet (www.intervet.com) has entered into an agreement with Oxford
BioMedica (www.oxfordbiomedica.co.uk), a gene-therapy company, to develop Oxford BioMedica’s human anti-cancer therapy, TroVAX®, for the veterinary market as TroVAX®-VET. TroVAX and TroVAX-VET are intended to stimulate the immune system to destroy tumor cells anywhere in the body. According to Oxford BioMedica, TroVAX is composed of an engineered vector containing a gene encoding a tumor-specific antigen. When TroVAX is injected, it stimulates an immune response specifically targeted against any tumor cell expressing the antigen on its surface. The agreement covers commercialization of TroVAX-Vet and includes an option to acquire other veterinary cancer products arising from BioMedica's antigen discovery program. The agreement replaces a previous agreement between Oxford BioMedica and Virbac SA. (Back to top.)

Merial/Bioject (August 2002) – Needle-Free Drug Delivery of Livestock Vaccines
Merial/Vivalis (January 2003) – Avian Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Merial/Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica (January 2003) – Commercialization Agreement
Merial Ltd. (www.merial.com) and Bioject Medical Technologies Inc. (www.bioject.com), which develops needle-free drug delivery systems, have entered into an exclusive licensing and supply agreement by which Merial will develop a system to deliver two livestock vaccines. The relationship marks Bioject’s initial foray into the animal health market. Bioject will receive monthly payments for product development, with additional milestone-based payments and royalties on sales of Merial vaccines that employ the needle-free injector. At the time the deal was announced, Bioject's stake in the collaboration was expected to be worth as much as $3 million to $4 million in the next 18 months, with additional revenue to be generated once products are on the market.

2003 has been a busy year so far for Merial. Recently, it was announced that Merial and Vivalis (www.vivalis.com), a company specializing in avian and mammalian stem cells, have signed a three-year agreement to conduct joint avian-embryonic-stem-cell research. According to a Merial press release, “new technologies have the potential to fundamentally change avian breeding in the next decade.” Vivalis will receive an upfront payment, annual research funding and, potentially, milestone payments and royalties.

Merial and Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. (www.boehringer-ingelheim.com) have announced a “long-term strategic partnership” which enables Merial to sell Boehringer’s new companion-animal pharmaceutical products in the US. The products included in the agreement were not specified in Merial’s press release, though it was noted that Boehringer’s European product line includes veterinary nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) and cardiac products. (Back to top.)

Deal Brings Celera Genomics’ Animal Genomics and Genotype Business to MetaMorphix
The March 4 agreement between Celera Genomics (NYSE: CRA, (www.celera.com), an Applera Corporation business, and privately held MetaMorphix (no website) illustrates how two biotechs devised a deal that helped focus both of their businesses. In March, Celera sold its animal genomics and genotyping business to MetaMorphix, a move that will “significantly aid us in becoming a leading player in animal-based agricultural genomics,” according to MetaMorphix CEO and President Dr. Ed Quattlebaum. In selling this portion of its business to MetaMorphix, Celera has signaled its emphasis “on activities related to our online and human therapeutics businesses,” notes Tony L. White, chairman of the board and CEO of Applera and acting president of Celera Genomics. Terms were not disclosed.

In 1999, MetaMorphix acquired some of the animal health assets of Saskatawan-based Biostar, including its immunopharmaceuticals. The MetaMorphix/Biostar deal was designed to create a company with the potential to develop products in both the companion animal and livestock sectors.

MetaMorphix was one of the participants at the recent international symposium on Nonsurgical Methods for Pet Population Control (see http://www.alcherabio.com/road.html). Dr. Sarah Robbins shared the first publicly revealed data on the of the effects of GnRH vaccination on reproduction in cats. (Back to top)

Schering-Plough Animal Health Acquires Aquaculture Vaccines Ltd
Aquaculture technology already supplies more than $50 billion worth of products worldwide, and biotech is playing an increasing role in the industry. In April 2002, Aquaculture Vaccines, a privately held UK company, was acquired by Schering-Plough Animal Health. Acquaculture Vaccines focuses on “fish immunization strategies” and biological vaccines, including those administered orally, by immersion or by injection. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, and the company will remain based in the UK. According to SPAH Senior Director Hank Behrend, “this acquisition provides synergy with our growing family of advanced treatment products for the worldwide aquaculture industry . . . provides synergy with our growing family of advanced treatment . . . broadens the range and services we offer our global aquaculture customers and supports our strategy of providing complete treatment solutions to the aquaculture
industry.”(Back to top)

Remedyne/Merial
On 5 November 2001, the privately held US biotechnology company Remedyne (www.remedyne.com) announced a collaboration with the Merck/Aventis joint venture Merial Limited (www.merial.com), the largest animal health company. Under terms of the agreement, Merial will provide research and development support for two years to Remedyne to conduct feasibility studies on a number of DAM-based (DNA adenine methylase-based) vaccine product candidates. Remedyne Corporation is focused on developing next-generation immune stimulating vaccines to treat cancer and infectious disease in humans, companion animals and livestock. During the two-year agreement, Merial will have the right to execute an exclusive worldwide license for all animal health applications identified in the research process. The agreement provides for Remedyne to receive initiating payments and certain developmental milestone payments. Remedyne will retain the rights to human health applications. Financial details of the deal were not released. (Back to top)

Conjuchem/Heska
On 10 October 2001, Conjuchem (TSE: CJC), a Canadian company founded in 1997 and based in Montreal, Canada (www.conjuchem.com), announced a research collaboration with Heska Corporation (NASDAQ: HSKD), (www.heska.com) to develop Conjuchem’s DAC (drug affinity complexes) technology for a veterinary indication. Conjuchem noted that having a veterinary licensing partner "underscores the broad potential of our core DAC technology." This technology is designed to make therapeutic drugs longer acting and can be used for local and systemic drug delivery. In animal health, drug delivery is crucial, as handling animals is difficult (try giving a cat a pill three times a day) and, in the case of production animals, administering drugs is expensive, since rounding up livestock for repeated treatments is stressful to animals and handlers and costly to producers. A biotech company with a unique, effective long-acting animal-health formulation has tremendous potential. Details of the therapeutic indication being pursued by Heska as well as financial details were not revealed. (Back to top)