ID Biomedical Catching Nasal Flu Vaccine Buzz

ID Biomedical Catching Nasal Flu Vaccine Buzz

By ANDY GEORGIADES

   Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

TORONTO -- The potential approval of the first nasally administered flu vaccine in the U.S. next year should draw "big pharma" attention to ID Biomedical Corp. (IDBE), if it hasn't already, an analyst said.

ID Biomedical is down 18 Canadian cents to C$8.57 in Toronto Wednesday, but the stock is up about 45% in the past month. While the company hasn't issued any news recently, its vaccine programs are moving forward and the vaccine industry is abuzz, said Cosme Ordonez, analyst at Dlouhy Merchant.

Ordonez doesn't own ID Biomedical shares, but Dlouhy has had an investment-banking relationship with the company in the last 24 months.

He said that Wyeth (WYE) and Medimmune Inc. (MEDI) appear to be close to receiving approval for FluMist, an intranasal flu vaccine, which the companies are co-developing. He suggested that Wyeth's decision this week to discontinue production of its injectable flu vaccine, FluShield, indicates the company is confident of a positive outcome for FluMist on Dec. 17, when it meets with a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory committee.

He said that companies typically receive an FDA briefing document a month before the committee meets, and there's speculation that Wyeth is satisfied the FDA's questions regarding the vaccine can be answered.

If all goes well, final approval is expected in the second quarter of 2003, and will "pave the way" for the next-generation vaccine, he said.

Ordonez said a nasal flu vaccine will command a premium price because it boasts better efficacy and patient compliance over injectables. And if other vaccine players, such as Aventis SA (AVE), GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK), Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK), and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY), want to compete with Wyeth in the nasal-flu-vaccine market, there's only one company with a product in the pipeline - Vancouver-based ID Biomedical.

ID Biomedical's FluINsure, which is in Phase II clinical trials, is potentially superior because it's a subunit vaccine, and poses no risk of giving the flu to the person taking the vaccine. FluMist, which is a weakened form of the live virus, can't make the same claim, he added.

Ordonez said Wyeth itself stands to lose significant market share to ID Biomedical if FluINsure is approved in 2006, and could also be interested in a partnership deal.

ID Biomedical is due to release additional FluINsure data at the end of the month, but more important will be results from next year's Phase II "challenge" study, which will actually measure the vaccine's protection, he said. For that trial, patients will receive an immunization, and a month later will be exposed to the influenza virus.

The company has said it won't entertain any partnership proposals until data from the "challenge" study are released. Ordonez suggested that ID Biomedical can expect "high bids" considering the market size for a nasal flu vaccine, up to US$1.5 billion, and the fierce competition among the various pharmaceutical players.

"We believe that the company that gains the rights to commercialize FluINsure will become the global leader in the influenza market," Ordonez said.

ID Biomedical's other key product is StreptAvax, the only product in clinical trials for a vaccine preventing Group A streptococcal diseases.

Company Web Site: http://www.idbiomedical.com

-Andy Georgiades, Dow Jones Newswires; 416-306-2031; andy.georgiades@dowjones.com

Updated November 20, 2002 3:29 p.m. EST

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