When a corporate minnow decides to sink its teeth into a bigger fish, it can be hard on the digestion.

But nobody at ID Biomedical is reaching for antacids. Fact is, the company’s gutsy decision to acquire a larger vaccine-producing manufacturer known as Shire Biologics is making ID Biomed’s senior decision-makers look like new-age prophets.

That’s prophets, not profits.

Third-quarter results released last week indicate that ledger entries for the Vancouver-based vaccine maker (TSX:IDB) are still written in red. But that situation may not last long.

Wayne Chose, Business Edge
ID Biomedical CEO Tony Holler isn’t taking any bows over his company’s run of good luck.

Should the U.S. Federal Drug Administration flash a green light (and it’s expected to do so any time now), ID Biomedical is primed to start shipping 1.2 million doses of flu vaccine to American consumers, facing critical shortages since a rival U.S. manufacturer announced it couldn’t meet domestic demand.

In short, these guys are hot. U.S. and Canadian news outlets are bombarding the company with daily requests for interviews, insights and updates. “It’s a storm every day,” said a senior member of the communications team.

Meanwhile, the Canadian government has asked ID Biomedical to remain on alert to produce trial vaccines to assist in the looming fight against avian flu, known in scientific circles as H5N1.

With unassailable authorities such as the World Health Organization warning of global influenza pandemics and former skeptics such as George W. Bush now looking northward for preventive medicine, all the cards seem to be falling into place for ID Biomedical.

In consequence, the company is ramping up production capacity at its brand-new (courtesy of this year’s Shire takeover) manufacturing facilities in Quebec. This year, it’ll churn out 12 million doses of flu vaccine. Next year, that figure climbs to 20 million. Targets for 2007’s flu season are set for more than twice that many.

And all because the company’s CEO and co-founder Dr. Tony Holler and president Todd Patrick had the foresight to fix their sights on vaccine-manufacturing facilities owned by Shire Biologics, a subsidiary of Shire Pharmaceuticals in the U.K.

Looking back, Holler refuses to get carried away by any media-bestowed status as a seer. He readily acknowledges there were elements of chance involved, as well as superb timing.

“It was good luck, let’s be completely honest about that,” he said, chuckling. “But we have always positioned ourselves to take advantage of opportunities when they do come and then we’ve executed. When you’re well positioned, you often get lucky.”

Nevertheless, before year-long negotiations came to a successful conclusion, skeptics wondered whether ID Biomedical had the wherewithal to pull off such an important deal. At the time of acquisition, ID Biomedical had a staff of only 150, while its takeover target employed twice that many.

But had Holler and Patrick not gone forward to seal the arrangement (purchase price: $120 million US), their company wouldn’t be making headlines today.

“Without the Shire transaction, not only are we not part of the (vaccine-shortage) solution, we’re not even part of the story,” corporate communications manager Dean Linden correctly assessed the situation.

Amen, agreed Holler, who also candidly confessed that he and Patrick “don’t have all the skills” to pull off deals of such magnitude on their own.

“So we brought in some high-priced help,” recalled the CEO. “We hired a seasoned industry pro named Staph Bakali, now our chief operating officer. He was previously with (U.K. pharmaceuticals giant) GlaxoSmithKlein and actually built the flu business for a British company called PowderJect, which became the second-largest manufacturer for the U.S. market.”

An added complication was the fact ID Biomedical was not the preferred buyer, according to Holler. Instead, the British parent had hoped to sell to Aventis Pasteur, or another of the world’s top five vaccine producers.

“When that didn’t happen, it gave us the opportunity to step in,” Holler said.

So far, the merger is working like a dream, added the CEO.

“In many ways, these two companies were a perfect fit. We’ve had virtually no layoffs whatsoever,” he rhapsodized.

“At the time of the purchase, ID Biomedical was primarily an R&D company and Shire’s expertise was in manufacturing. Plus, they were in full production with brand-new facilities. It couldn’t have been any better.”

With the pressures of the moment piling up, Holler politely said goodbye before rushing to conclude another action-packed afternoon at the office.

He doesn’t have a lot of free time to chat these days.

No problem, he said: “It’s good to be busy.”

(Tom Keyser can be reached at tomk@businessedge.ca)