Our corporate strategy has three main components. We plan to:
Advance the clinical development of the pandemic and seasonal influenza vaccines to create additional value
Medicago believes that the speed and cost benefits of its manufacturing platform offer significant advantages in pandemic and seasonal flu markets. Its VLP approach also provides a clear differentiation over currently marketed products since VLPs have the potential to improve efficacy and reduce doses required for vaccination. Medicago is currently focusing its efforts on the clinical development of its influenza vaccines.
Leverage the current pandemic influenza market opportunity to execute first commercial agreements
The Company believes that the current pandemic influenza market provides opportunities to establish commercial agreements with target countries without enough domestic production capacity. Medicago has already initiated discussions with countries in Europe, Asia and Africa for the establishment of domestic vaccine production infrastructures based on Medicago’s technologies. The Company expects that ongoing or future out-licensing activities to be concluded during 2011 will provide future sources of revenue from upfront or technology access fees, milestones payments and royalties. The Company also plans to pursue collaborative opportunities with government agencies to secure additional grants in the USA and Canada.
Seek development opportunities outside of influenza
Medicago believes it currently possesses the technology and expertise to conduct development programs in an efficient milestone-driven process from the proof of concept to preclinical and clinical phases. As products in the development pipeline reach the next phase of development, new ones may be introduced. Medicago intends to increase its infrastructure and overall capacity in order to retain the ability to develop and manufacture products and materials through later development and commercial stages. This strategy will allow Medicago’s pipeline to have, at any given time, more products and product candidates at various stages of development.
Medicago also believes that its technologies may be suitable for applications beyond the biopharmaceutical market. For example, Medicago is investigating the possibility of supplying, at competitive prices, enzymes required for the production of bio-ethanol, an alternative to conventional fuel.