A Brisbane, Australia, company that holds about one-third of the ownership in 'Aiea-based Hawaii Biotech Inc. says it wants to invest more money into the local company and has recently raised funds to do so.

Avantogen Ltd. issued a statement yesterday saying it believed Hawaii Biotech has a good future and that it intended to buy additional shares with proceeds from a private placement offering of $1 million Australian dollars, or about $680,000 U.S. dollars.

"The board of Avantogen is firmly convinced that Hawaii Biotech's recombinant DNA manufacturing platform is an excellent investment opportunity and Avantogen actively seeks to increase its stake in this promising vaccine development company," said Patrick Elliott, Avantogen chairman, in a press statement.

The Australian company also announced that William Ardrey, Avantogen's chief executive officer, has been appointed to Hawaii Biotech's board of directors. Avantogen has a 31 percent interest in Hawaii Biotech.

Ardrey said in a telephone interview that an investment in Hawaii Biotech represents the best use of Avantogen's cash "and other capital we may raise."

"I am very pleased with how things are going," Ardrey said.

Hawaii Biotech is one of the state's more prominent biotech companies and has focused its efforts on vaccines using a recombinant DNA manufacturing process.

Its efforts include developing a vaccine for West Nile virus, a serious illness that can produce vision loss or paralysis along with neurological damage. It also has another vaccine under development for dengue, an illness that can be fatal.

Hawaii Biotech's efforts to develop vaccines are different from most companies that have looked to producing so-called attenuated vaccines, or those produced by finding pathogens that are no longer virulent and can induce a immune response to the disease when injected.

The Hawaii Biotech approach focuses on extracting certain proteins from DNA that are then used to produce the vaccine. According to Avantogen regulatory filings, the process is safer than using live viruses and is capable of a rapid scaling of production compared to more traditional means.

Currently, Hawaii Biotech is in a Phase 1 clinical trial for its West Nile virus vaccine. Avantogen said the company also anticipates participating in a Walter Reed Army Institute of Research-sponsored Phase 1 human clinical trial with its dengue vaccine early next year.