Intercell to acquire remainder of Pelias

Germany's Intercell AG has agreed to up its 46% stake in the Vienna-based Pelias Biomedical Development AG to gain 100% ownership. In an all-share deal, Intercell has offered up to 350,000 of its new shares, representing about 0.9% of its current share capital, to the remaining private shareholders of Pelias. The transaction, which is subject to certain closing conditions required by Austrian law, is expected to complete early next year.

Pelias develops products and holds certain licenses in the field of vaccines against major pathogens involved in hospital-acquired infections, including a clinical-stage Pseudomonas vaccine candidate and a number of antigens, which have been identified by Intercell's proprietary Antigen Identification Program. Hospital-acquired infections are one of the major causes of death and serious illness worldwide and result in an annual burden of $20.0 billion in the developed world. Pharmaceutical sector analysts at Lehman Brothers reacted positively to news of the acquisition, noting that Pelias will broaden Intecell's vaccines portfolio which already includes another vaccine for a hospital-acquired infection - Staphylococcus aureus - co-developed with Merck & Co.