Aida Pharmaceuticals (OTCBB: AIDA) will obtain a controlling interest in Jiangsu Institute of Microbiology Co., Ltd. (JSIM), a research institute with several products on the market and several more in clinical trials. Aida did not release details about the company’s offerings or JSIM’s research focus.
Aida already owns a number of China-based subsidiaries, with complicated inter-relationships. The JSIM acquisition continues in that vein. To take control of JSIM, Aida entered into two share transfer agreements under which one subsidiary, Hangzhou Aida Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., will acquire a 43% stake in JSIM from Jin'ou Medicine Co., Ltd., and another subsidiary, Changzhou Fangyuan Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., will obtain a 55% equity interest in JSIM from Jiangyin Hi-tech Group. Neither specific share amounts nor the Jiangsu’s revenues were disclosed.
Aida is attempting to diversify its pharmaceutical offerings away from a heavy dependence on its antibiotic, Etimicin, which was the source of 69% of its revenues during the first nine months of 2007. Aida has not yet released its 2007 year-end results. Aida has a number of cancer drugs under development, including Apoptotic Factor (rh-Apo2l).
In January, Aida completed an unusual private placement, in which a selling shareholder sold 1.2 million shares in a private placement. Aida bundled those shares with 1.2 million warrants at a price of $2.50 and an additional 1.2 million warrants at $3.00. Although Aida received no money from the placement, it would book $2.64 million if all the warrants were exercised. At the moment, Aida’s stock price is at $1.10, which is considerably below the strike prices of the two warrants.
In the first nine months of 2007, Aida produced a profit of $333,000 on $18.7 million of revenue. Both figures lagged below the comparable numbers in 2006.
Jiangsu Institute of Microbiology has been conducting research for more than 30 years. It has over 30 scientists and engineers. More than 20 projects qualified as national-level key projects under China’s state programs.
