Hawaii Biotech. will remain in Hawaii and not move its base of operations to California as once planned

Announcing the change of plans this week was Avantogen, whose board gave final approval to the merger with Hawaii Biotech. Avantogen, based in Sydney, Australia, also has a principal operation near San Diego and had considered moving the Hawaii operation there.

Hawaii Biotech will retain both its name and its home in Aiea. Avantogen and Hawaii Biotech's previous owners will each own half of the company.

Avantogen is pumping $3.5 million into Hawaii Biotech and contributing its vaccine adjuvant program, Pentrys vaccine program and senior management team.

Hawaii Biotech is contributing its vaccine research and development team, pre-clinical vaccine programs and facilities, vaccine grant funding and $1 million cash.

The merger brings the following executive changes:

• Leonard Firestone becomes CEO of Hawaii Biotech.
• Carolyn Weeks-Levy, currently vice president of research, development and regulatory affairs for Hawaii Biotech, becomes chief scientific officer.
• David Watumull, who has been Hawaii Biotech's CEO, is now CEO of Cardax Pharma, which was spun off from Hawaii Biotech and is owned by Hawaii Biotech's pre-deal shareholders. The company does research on anti-inflammatory small molecules.

Firestone said he hopes the company will begin clinical work next year on vaccines for West Nile virus and dengue fever.

During the past three years, Hawaii Biotech has received $30 million in funding commitments from the U.S. Institutes of Health and other governmental agencies.

This is not the first time that a company has acquired a high-tech business in Hawaii with intentions to move operations to the Mainland, only to decide it would be better not to.

Spirant Communications had the same idea after it acquired Honolulu-based Adtech, the maker of high-end hardware to measure computer network speed, but then decided it could retain more engineers by keeping the operation in Hawaii.