Total revenue was $61.7m, up 84% from $33.5m on the comparable period last year. Revenue included $56.7m of Relenza royalties $1.4m of collaboration income from licensing agreements with AstraZeneca and Boehringer Ingelheim and grant income of $2.1m from the US National Institutes of Health.
Peter Cook, CEO of Biota, said: “This is a very strong result for Biota. Whilst growth in Relenza royalties is the major financial driver, progress with our key projects and particularly laninamivir and the expansion of our pipeline sets the scene for a very exciting future. The implementation of our strategy, to have 2 or 3 royalty generating products in the market at the same time, is well underway.”
Biota expects that FY2010 to be a positive year, where it expects Relenza royalty income to remain solid with market updates provided on a quarterly basis. Strong cash flows from Relenza royalties to 31 December 2009 of $62.9m will add to the $52m cash on hand.
The company said that the development pipeline is extensive and well funded and expects to receive approval for laninamivir and the intention to secure a licensee outside of Japan, in the near future.