Singapore: Australian infectious disease therapy and vaccine development company BioDiem has signed an agreement to license a novel vaccine technology from the University of Canberra, expanding the potential disease targets of BioDiem's technology portfolio. Research to date supports the technology's use in the development of vaccines for hepatitis including hepatitis B and D, which currently have no curative treatment.

The new agreement provides BioDiem with an exclusive license to a novel vaccine technology which, although in development for hepatitis, may also have applicability in a range of other diseases. All terms are in keeping with industry standards, and as part of the agreement BioDiem has established a collaborative research program with the University of Canberra to develop the technology further.

This acquisition complements BioDiem's broad product portfolio of vaccine and antimicrobial technologies, and the Company's strategy to provide treatments for infectious diseases with attractive market potential. Acquisitions like the SAVINE technology (announced in December 2011) and the recent licensing of an Australian National University vaccine technology expand the Company's potential disease targets and technology portfolio, as well as providing more opportunities for outlicensing of technologies after cost-effective, often collaborative research work.

"We're very pleased to establish an important research partnership with the University of Canberra and its world-leading researchers. This technology is built on excellent science and the potential applications in hepatitis are very exciting. As with our other recent acquisitions we have the in-house expertise to significantly boost the value of this asset, and believe that development towards a high-value orphan indication may allow us to achieve a rapid entry to clinical trials and eventual outlicensing," said BioDiem CEO Julie Phillips.