Intercall and Kirin agree R&D accord

Austrian vaccine development company Intercell AG says it has agreed a strategic alliance with Japanese firm Kirin Brewery to develop monoclonal antibodies against Streptococcus pneumoniae infection.

Under the terms of the agreement, Kirin is granted global rights to develop and commercialize antibodies that have been identified by Intercell's Antigen Identification Program. In return, the Vienna-headquartered firm is entitled to receive milestone payments totalling 40.0 million euros ($48.7 million), which includes an upfront payment of 4.0 million euros. In addition, Intercell will be entitled to royalties on eventual product sales and will receive compensation for the development costs it has incurred so far.

Analysts at Lehman Brothers say that this is a positive move for Intercell and maintain their 2-equal weight rating and 8.3 euro price target on the firm.