Biota's New Flu Drug Meets Goals In Phase Three Trial

Australian drug company Biota Holdings Ltd. (BTA.AU) Monday said its experimental influenza drug laninamivir met its goals in a major phase three trial.

Melbourne-based Biota said laninamivir, formerly known as CS-8958, was shown to be as effective as Roche Holding AG's (ROG.VX) Tamiflu in relieving flu symptoms. The drug was tested in 1,000 adults in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Korea.

Japan's Daiichi Sankyo Co. (4568.TO), which funded the trial, has the rights to market laninamivir in Japan and will seek Japanese regulatory approval to begin selling the drug, Biota said. Daiichi is expected to make its submission in March 2010.

Biota said it will continue development of laninamivir in the U.S. and Europe and it is seeking a licensing partner for these and other regions.

At 0806 GMT, Biota shares were up 11 cents or 5.3% at 2.17 Australian dollars. Its shares have more than doubled during the past three months.

Biota developed zanamivir, an anti-flu treatment marketed by GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK.LN) as Relenza. The U.K. drug maker said in July it would triple Relenza production to meet demand for antivirals from governments stockpiling swine flu medications.

Laninamivir is Biota's "second generation" flu drug and is designed to be used less frequently than existing treatments.

Company Web site: www.biota.com.au

-By Jason Douglas, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9272; [e-mail]