Nabi Biopharma gets $5 million milestone from GlaxoSmithKline on progressing vaccine candidates

USA-based Nabi Biopharmaceuticals has announced the initiation of a Phase I/II clinical trial for two of the antigens in the PentaStaph vaccine candidate, which has triggered a $5 million milestone payment from UK drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline which has licensed the products.

PentaStaph was sold to GSK for a total consideration of $46 million, including $26 million associated with accomplishing four milestone tasks. The remaining $21 million in payments contemplated in the transaction are associated with three milestones which the US company expects to complete within the next 14 months. These remaining milestones include completion of the Phase I trial, the successful transfer of specified materials and the successful transfer of technology. Nabi received a cash payment of $21.5 million when the transaction closed in November 2009 that included $20 million associated with the transaction close, $1 million associated with the sale of a separate preclinical program for a vaccine against Staphylococcus epidermedis and $0.5 million as reimbursement for license fees and clinical materials previously manufactured for use in the Phase I trial.

"I am very pleased with our progress toward realizing the significant value of the PentaStaph asset sale," said Raafat Fahim, president and chief executive of Nabi. "In one month since we successfully closed the transaction, we completed the first milestone under the sale agreement. We look forward to fully realizing the remaining $21 million of milestone payments,' he noted.