A non-exclusive licence agreement for LBT and bioMérieux

Shares in Australian medical technology company LBT Innovations (ASX:LBT) jumped over 20% on Thursday, following the signing of a new licence agreement with French in vitro diagnostics company bioMérieux.

The new agreement — surrounding LBT’s foundational culture plate-streaking technology, MicroStreak — terminates the initial exclusive licence signed in 2007 and converts it to a non-exclusive licence. bioMérieux first announced its plans to terminate the agreement in January this year, following its strategic alliance with Italian lab automation company Copan.

Under the new licence, bioMérieux will retain the sole rights to service and support the installed base of Microstreak (marketed by the company as PREVI Isola) systems, including supply of the patented disposable applicators used in the streaking process, and will discontinue sales of new systems by 30 July 2016. The company will focus its resources on the alliance with Copan.

LBT will meanwhile receive a one-time payment of US$5.5 million ($7.7 million) and will receive non-exclusive technology rights to improvements developed by bioMérieux as solely related to the MicroStreak technology. LBT will recover global rights to pursue its own development, manufacturing and commercialisation of a MicroStreak product.

“We fully understand bioMérieux’s decision regarding PREVI Isola and we have taken this as an opportunity to reposition MicroStreak and to explore other opportunities that exist for the technology,” said LBT Chief Executive Officer Lusia Guthrie.

“We have been extremely fortunate to have had a partner of bioMérieux’s calibre and reputation, which has helped to establish MicroStreak as a valuable and commercially successful technology at the leading edge of microbiology automation.”

LBT Innovations (ASX:LBT) shares were trading 21.43% higher at $0.085 as of around 1 pm on Thursday.