BioDiem Ltd. Partners With Griffith University to Enhance Antimicrobial Drug

Melbourne, 8 November 2012: Australian infectious disease therapy development company BioDiem Ltd (ASX: BDM) has signed an agreement with Griffith University to expand the range of variants of BioDiem’s broad spectrum antimicrobial compound, BDM-I.

Creating new variants of BDM-I with enhanced solubility and preserved antimicrobial ability will increase the range of possible commercial applications of the drug. The work utilizes expertise at Griffith University’s Institute for Glycomics and will be overseen by the Institute’s Director and Research Leader Professor Mark von Itzstein. Professor von Itzstein led the research group responsible for the design and synthesis of the anti-influenza drug Relenza®, which has been approved for the treatment of influenza worldwide. As one of the key players in the drug's development, Mark was jointly awarded the prestigious Australia Prize for Pharmaceutical Sciences in 1996.

BDM-I has displayed activity against a wide range of agents responsible for causing serious infectious diseases. Increased solubility should enhance the potential for BDM-I to be delivered via a wider variety of administration routes such as injections, creams/ointment/gels, topical sprays, eye drops, inhalation and more. This potential diversity increases the compound’s commercial attractiveness for potential licensees. First stage results should be available by December 2012.

“The antimicrobial program is a very exciting part of our development work. Research results have consistently broadened the potential applications of this compound, so we are pleased to announce this collaboration with Griffith University to develop the commercial profile of BDM-I. Creating variants of BDM-I with enhanced solubility is one avenue for progressing this side of the program, and we look forward to the results of this partnership” said BioDiem CEO Julie Phillips.

About BioDiem Ltd

BioDiem is an ASX-listed company based in Melbourne with an international focus on discovering, developing and commercialising world-class research and technology targeting cancers and infectious diseases. BioDiem’s core technologies include the Live Attenuated Influenza Virus (LAIV), the SAVINE platform and the BDM-I antimicrobial compound. BioDiem has also in-licensed vaccine technologies from Australian National University and the University of Canberra with initial target indications of dengue fever and hepatitis respectively.

The LAIV influenza vaccine is an intranasal vaccine to prevent infection from seasonal and pandemic influenza. The LAIV influenza vaccine can be produced using both egg-based and cell-based manufacturing methods. The cell-based LAIV vaccine has completed a Phase II clinical trial in Europe. The egg-based LAIV vaccine technology is licensed to the World Health Organization as part of the Global Pandemic Influenza Action Plan to Increase Vaccine Supply.

The LAIV influenza vaccine is marketed as Nasovac™ in India by the Serum Institute of India, and has been licensed to China-based Changchun BCHT Biotechnology Co. The LAIV vaccine was in-licensed from the Institute of Experimental Medicine in St Petersburg, Russia where it has been used for over a decade in many millions of people - children, adults and the elderly. The LAIV is administered by nasal spray and induces a rapid immune response in the mucosal lining of the nose and pharynx.

The LAIV is also being developed as a viral vector for making novel non-influenza vaccines for different diseases including cancers. Viruses have the ability to generate proteins prolifically and can be programmed to produce disease-specific proteins. As part of a vaccine, disease-specific proteins can help generate a beneficial immune response. BioDiem is advancing its two new vaccine and vaccine vector programs in partnership with France-based developer VIVALIS and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT).

SAVINE (patented Scrambled Antigen Vaccine) is a platform technology for the design of antigens for incorporation into vaccines targeting an immune response to a range of different diseases. SAVINE antigens are encoded as synthetic genes which, together with a delivery technology such as BioDiem's LAIV-based vaccine vector technology, can be used to develop novel vaccines.

BDM-I is a synthetic compound targeted at the treatment of serious human infections. BDM-I is in the preclinical stage with outlicensing as the intended outcome. BDM-I is active against a range of pathogenic micro-organisms including gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, fungi and protozoa. Key patents have been granted in both Europe and the US around BDM-I’s antimicrobial activity, including activity against Plasmodium falciparum, responsible for causing the most commonly severe form of malaria, and Trichomonas vaginalis, the protozoan responsible for causing a common sexually transmitted disease named trichomoniasis.

BioDiem is also developing BDM-E, a tetra peptide synthetic compound, as a treatment for ophthalmic disorders. The US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) has granted Orphan Drug designation to BDM-E for the treatment of retinitis pigmentosa, a serious degenerative disease of the retina.

BioDiem’s research is ongoing in partnership with internationally recognised research and commercial groups.

For additional information, please visit www.biodiem.com

The Institute for Glycomics was established in 2000 at the Gold Coast Campus of Griffith University, the focus of the Institute’s research is to discover the roles carbohydrates play in disease and ageing. Using this knowledge, the Institute is developing novel drugs and vaccines to interfere with the carbohydrated-related biological process of disease. This approach presents an exciting therapeutic platform for the control of a wide-range of medical conditions such as cancer, diabetes, infectious diseases, inflammation and immune disorders. The Institute is the only one of its kind in Australia and only one of six in the world. The Institute for Glycomics seeks to collaborate with leading scientists around the world to build a critical mass around carbohydrate-based research. Global collaboration together with a multi-disciplinary approach to research, are essential to achieving our vision to bring forward novel medicines and vaccines to the community.

Contact

Investors

Julie Phillips, Chief Executive Officer

BioDiem Ltd

Phone +61 3 9613 4100

Email jphillips@biodiem.com

Media

Tom Donovan

Buchan Consulting

Phone +61 3 8866 1224 / +61 422 557 107

Email tdonovan@buchanwe.com.au

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