Vical Pandemic Flu Vaccine May Be Licensed to AnGes

Luke Timmerman10/7/08

Vical, a San Diego biotech company, said today it has signed a non-binding letter of intent to license its pandemic flu vaccine candidates in Japan to AnGes. Osaka, Japan-based AnGes will conduct due diligence on the program, and the companies plan to negotiate terms of a license, Vical said. The news is an “incremental positive” for Vical (NASDAQ: VICL), because it validates the company’s flu vaccine candidate, says Thomas Shrader, an analyst with Rodman & Renshaw in New York, in a note to clients today. Vical’s H5N1 vaccine has advantages over competitors in effectiveness, cross-protection, and rapid production, he says.

Luke Timmerman is the National Biotech Editor of Xconomy, and the Editor of Xconomy Seattle. E-mail him at ltimmerman@xconomy.com or follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ldtimmerman.