Cardia restructures with a little help from Big Pharma

Melbourne-based company Cardia Technologies has wrapped its medical biotech projects into a new wholly-owned subsidiary company, Big Pharma Ltd.

Big Pharma -- whose name, admitted Cardia chairman Pat Volpe, is "a bit cheeky" -- will take on Cardia's diabetes projects. One is a type 1 diabetes project focussed on food toxins, and the other is a type 2 diabetes collaboration, testing a compound called ISF402, with the International Diabetes Institute and Monash University.

Cardia, which will subscribe to shares in Big Pharma, expects the result to be an autonomous, fully-focused medical biotechnology company with the power to attract specialist board members, raise capital outside Cardia and explore new R&D options.

Volpe said Cardia would look to float the new company in 2003, with shares owned by Cardia returning to shareholders in species.

In a statement, he said the restructure was in line with the Cardia board's strategy of returning value to shareholders through each of its five business units -- agricultural biotech (investment and market-ready products like LuciLure), natural pharmaceutical products, water technology and mining interests, which Volpe said would eventually be taken out of the company.

"We're moving to the next level," he said.