Acambis says aiming to buy in medicines

By Mark Potter

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Acambis Plc (ACM.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is seeking to buy medicines and possibly small companies in the near future, and looking beyond the travel vaccine sector some analysts had expected it to focus on, its chief executive said.

Gordon Cameron also told the Reuters Biotechnology Summit on Tuesday that he could see the logic of mergers between small and medium-sized biotechnology firms, but declined to say whether Acambis would be interested in such a deal.

Transformed from a biotech minnow by contracts to supply the U.S. government with smallpox vaccine, Acambis has long been looking to bulk up the rest of its business, which focuses on fighting infectious disease and protecting travelers.

The firm is also hoping to benefit from a new U.S. contract to supply a weakened form of smallpox vaccine suitable for vulnerable members of the population. Cameron said he had no news on the contract, which is due to be awarded this month.

"I think it's fair to say that we're casting our net wider than just travel vaccines," he told the summit in London, when asked about Acambis's plans to buy in new medicines. Some analysts have been expecting Acambis to focus on buying travel vaccines for its sales force already selling a typhoid vaccine.

"Our focus is on infectious disease and the vaccine segment within that," he said. "There's a desire to secure some of these deals in the short-to-medium term."

Cameron declined to comment on market speculation that Peter Fellner, a veteran dealmaker in the biotech industry, was set to become Acambis's chairman this year.

Fellner joined Acambis as non-executive director earlier this month, sparking speculation the firm could become a more active player in the fast-consolidating vaccines industry.  Continued...