MMI to take control of Viratis in exchange for shares

The quoted technology commercialisation company Medical Marketing International Group plc (MMI) has reached agreement with its partners, King’s College London (KCL), Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) and the inventing scientists, for an option to acquire their shareholdings in Viratis, MMI’s subsidiary which is developing HIV and hepatitis B therapies based on gene silencing.

When Viratis was established as a joint venture between MMI, KCL, QMUL and the inventing scientists, the universities assigned to Viratis the worldwide patents for the anti-HIV technology on a royalty-free basis in exchange for an equity stake.

Since then, MMI’s shareholding in Viratis has increased from 50 per cent to 72 per cent as it funded the development programme.  This agreement will enable MMI to continue investing in Viratis out of its existing cash reserves to enable further development work to be undertaken, which is expected to result in MMI owning 75 per cent of Viratis by the end of 2007.  

The Cambridge-based company then has an option to acquire the remaining shares in Viratis at a fixed price in exchange for new MMI shares. The number of MMI shares to be issued will be dependent upon MMI’s share price at the time the option is exercised but at the closing mid price on 13 November 2007 of GBP1.05 it would result in the issue of 279,762 new shares representing 0.48 per cent of MMI’s issued share capital with a value of £293,750. MMI has until 31 March 2008 to exercise this option. Holders of the new MMI shares will be locked in for 12 months.

Viratis has focused on the use of ribozymes to silence the genes for CCR5 and CXCR4, the key cellular receptors that allow the entry of HIV into cells. MMI announced recently that a single administration of its anti-HIV ribozymes significantly suppressed the CCR5 and CXCR4 receptors for a period of approximately three months in animal models. This result suggests that infrequent dosing of the ribozyme therapy may be possible compared to other approaches that also target cellular receptors for HIV but require twice daily administration.

KCL has been actively involved in the development of MMI’s gene silencing approach to treat AIDS and it is intended that the new agreement will enable this work to continue.  MMI retains the right of first refusal over related research discoveries by the same KCL team.