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BIOPROSPECT Limited (BPO) chief operating officer Peter May (pictured) has admitted relations with partner Solagran Limited (SLA) are ‘strained’, with what he calls a lack of transparency over an alleged rights dispute.
While it has been more than a week since Solagran announced to the ASX the companies were in dispute, BioProspect is yet to receive clarification over what the dispute is exactly about.
BioProspect is a natural health products developer that is currently in the commercialisation phase with its Bioeffectives range.
“We have development agreements with Solagran that are still in operation and there’s been no reference from Solagran that they have been breached,” says May.
“I guess if you’re exchanging letters rather than sitting at a table then it’s fair to say the relationship is strained. We’re trying to set up a meeting but it’s not like we can knock on the door cold – there needs to be discussions at a senior level.
“We have products that involve Solagran products and we knew where that market was going. We were in the process of commercialisation, going from evaluation to the negotiation phase for supply agreements, but then Solagran went and made that announcement.”
On June 28 Solagran representative Kamran Shamsi resigned from the board of BioProspect, as SLA announced the two companies were in dispute over intellectual property rights.
“We sent a letter asking for clarification and we still haven’t received a response from them,” says May.
Solagran CEO Branko Jovanovic was hesitant to speak on the issue and could not give a timeframe for when an explanation will come.
“I can tell you we have no further comment at this time and we will make an announcement to the market in due course,” he says.
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