GroPep to receive $3.8m at malaria milestone

Adelaide-based biotech GroPep is to receive AUD$3.8 million from the Gates Foundation-funded Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) and the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), after meeting the first milestone in a project inherited from Biotech Australia.

The payment will be used by GroPep to fund the remaining project activities, which will take the manufacturing process from lab scale to a fully GMP-compliant manufacturing process.

The project aims to develop manufacturing methods for a potential malaria vaccine based on two antigens from merozoite surface protein 2, and is part of a collaboration between GroPep, Latrobe University and CRC for Vaccine Technology spin-off Vaccine Solutions.

"The performance of the GroPep process is a very positive indication of GroPep's technical capability, and developing it gave GroPep experience it can use for other products," said CEO Bob Finder.

The payment will be recognised as revenue over the next couple of years, with the duration of the program expected to end in 2005.

MVI director Dr Melinda Moree said the organisation had confidence in GroPep and looked forward to continuation of the relationship.

CFO Tony Mitchell noted that the project was one of the few taken over by GroPep after the acquisition and subsequent divestment of Biotech Australia, and required the company to renegotiate the agreement with the MVI.