Bavarian Nordic looking for strategic partner, says company chairman

Denmark's Bavarian Nordic is actively seeking to be part of the consolidation process now underway in the international vaccine industry, and would not turn down a takeover offer if the price were right, company chairman Asgar Aamund said on Tuesday.

Aamund said that the board is interested in entering into a "strategic alliance" with a major pharmaceutical corporation to boost Bavarian Nordic's development and commercial strength.

"Although we are not interested in divesting ourselves of Bavarian Nordic, it would be wrong to say we were restricting options," said Aamund. "We would be obliged to consider a bid if it is extremely attractive. That is the rule for all listed companies."

Aamund mentioned the strategic alliance between Denmark's Neurosearch and GSK as a model for Bavarian Nordic's future plans.

Aamund, who is also chairman of Neurosearch, said he expected the consolidation plan for Bavarian Nordic to be finished by "mid-summer" 2006. "We have a short-list of other vaccine companies we are looking at, but not necessarily GSK," he said.

The Danish company is engaged in a race with Britain's Acambis to win a huge contract with the US Department of Health and Human Services for the purchase of an advanced, safer smallpox vaccine.

Bavarian has launched legal action both in the US and Europe against Acambis for patent violation of its Modified Vaccinia Ankara-Bavarian Nordic (MVA-BN), a technology platform for a range of the Bavarian's pipeline vaccines.

"There has been a revival of interest in the vaccine business. Vaccines are no longer high volume, low margin products. And we have developed state-of-the-art vaccines," said Aamund.