Biota sees Relenza sales fall as swine flu fear fades

MELBOURNE, April 29 (Reuters) - Australian biotech firm Biota Holdings BTA.AX said on Thursday it expected quarterly royalties on its Relenza flu drug to fall 70 percent as governments appeared to have stopped buying the drug to treat swine flu.

"The reported quarterly sales for Relenza may signify governments' anticipated abatement of immediate concerns about swine flu and/or a delay in any implementation to extend or rebalance their national stockpiles," the company said on Thursday.

Biota said UK pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L), which markets the drug, reported sales of A$138 million, ($127.8 million) which would yield a royalty of around A$9.7 million for the Australian group that developed the drug, down from A$32.3 million a year ago. ($1=1.080 Australian Dollar) (Reporting by Sonali Paul; editing by Balazs Koranyi)