Medivir receives shares and cash payment from Epiphany Biosciences.

A completed share issue by San Francisco based Epiphany Biosciences, Inc., Medivir’s licensing partner for the shingles project MIV-606 (also known as EPB-348), has led to Medivir obtaining shares in Epiphany corresponding to a 2 % ownership in the company.

Several US and international institutions including Wexford Capital, Windsor Bay Capital, Global Trust Ventures, China Development Industrial Bank, and other investors have invested in the new share issue which raised USD 36m. The share issue proceeds will be used for the continued development of MIV-606 and Epiphany’s other discovery and development programs.

Medivir also received a milestone payment of USD 0.5m from Epiphany, as stipulated in the license agreement from September 2006.

“The great interest for Epiphany’s new share issue reflects the potential which American investors see in the zoster project MIV-606, and we are looking forward to seeing the project proceeding further in development towards a marketing authorization”, comments Medivir’s CEO Lars Adlersson. “We are delighted to have completed the licensing of this drug and look forward to collaborating with Medivir on its clinical development.” stated Fred Volinsky, MD, the CEO of Epiphany Biosciences.

MIV-606 is one of six polymerase projects which Medivir has elected to outlicense in order to focus in-house resources on its phase III project Lipsovir® and selected protease projects. The total deal value for the outlicensed polymerase projects, excluding royalties and payments in shares, amounts to more than USD 400 m.