Nabi Biopharmaceuticals completes sale of PentaStaph vaccine candidate to GSK

Nabi Biopharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:NABI) announced today that it has successfully completed the technology transfer of program know-how associated with the sale of the PentaStaph^TM vaccine candidate to GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals S.A. (GSK).  As a result of successfully completing this milestone, Nabi is eligible to receive $8 million under the agreement governing Nabi's sale of PentaStaph^TM (Pentavalent S. aureus Vaccine) and related assets to GSK. 

Nabi sold PentaStaph and related technologies to GSK for a total consideration of $46 million, including $26 million associated with accomplishing four milestone tasks. Including this milestone, Nabi has earned a total of $21 million in PentaStaph milestone payments to date. The remaining $5 million payment contemplated in the transaction is due upon completion of the Phase I trial that began in December 2009. In addition to the milestone payments earned thus far, Nabi received a cash payment of $21.5 million when the transaction closed in November 2009 that included $20 million associated with the transaction close, $1 million associated with the sale of a related pre-clinical program for a vaccine against S.epidermedis and $0.5 million as reimbursement for license fees and clinical materials previously manufactured for use in the Phase I trial. 

"We have made tremendous progress in achieving the PentaStaph milestones by completing three of the four milestone tasks in eight short months following the close of this transaction," said Dr. Raafat Fahim, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nabi Biopharmaceuticals. "We have one remaining milestone task to complete under this agreement before fully realizing the significant value of the PentaStaph asset sale. We expect to accomplish this final milestone within the next 9 months."