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"Andrew Sheldon describes it as a 'Nirvana moment': Sitting across the table from a group of investors with extremely deep pockets and seeing enthusiasm for your pitch spread across their faces," writes Joanna Pachner in Tobacco giant breathes life into medical startup .

"The CEO of Medicago, a biotechnology startup based in Quebec City, experienced this entrepreneurial bliss during an impromptu meeting with two senior executives from Philip Morris International. It happened in February of 2007 during BioPartnering North America, a conference in Vancouver that connects pharmaceutical and biotech companies with each other and with investors. The giant cigarette manufacturer had sent two of its top R&D people to seek out "adjacent technologies" for the tobacco plant — ventures that could benefit from PMI's decades of research, while yielding a more wholesome product than a pack of Marlboros."

Earlier, Mr. Sheldon took questions on his deal with Philip Morris International.

Dave Michaels, globeandmail.com: Welcome, everyone.  We've got a broad range of issues on tap here, from business to ethics to science.  Let's get right to the questions:

Jonathan Krueger from Pleasanton, U.S., writes: According to Morgan Stanley, Philip Morris makes about $1 (U.S.) per pack net profit. For about every 40,000 packs of cigarettes sold, someone dies. So the $16-million that Philip Morris gave Medicago is directly connected to the death of 400 people. There is no other place Philip Morris gets the money. Mr. Sheldon, are you okay with taking blood money?

Andrew Sheldon: Jonathan, we are a biotech company focused on developing vaccines that will have an important impact on saving lives, especially in the dramatic context of a pandemic. This is a great opportunity for Phillip Morris to make a positive impact in the delivery of health care by investing in cutting edge technology.

Steve from Etobicoke writes: Your product is intended as a vaccine for avian flu, which according to the article is an increasingly lucrative market to target. Can you give us your views on the likelihood of an avian flu pandemic in the near future? What is the health community saying?

Andrew Sheldon: Steve, there is no doubt that we will have an influenza pandemic on our hands. The problem is we really don't know when. It may also be that the pandemic we finally experience is with a completely different strain than those circulating at the present time. This leads me to the Medicago advantage, which is, that we can move very quickly once the World Health Organization announces the pandemic strain (within a matter of weeks). Existing technologies based on egg production need lead times that are estimated up to 8 months. The health community remains in a constant state of surveillance and alert and are monitoring outbreaks as they happen.

J. Gabil from Winnipeg writes: Is this a recession-proof industry? How does all of the market turmoil impact Medicago? Or does it?

Andrew Sheldon: Mr Gabil, health care is an important need for our population, and as such the demand for services and products remains relatively constant. Medicago now has the cash on hand to be able to continue its development and will allow us to attain our important clinical milestones; we believe that we had good timing with this investment in the face of the current market conditions.

Joseph Lee of Toronto writes:  Eggs and tobacco plants seem like two very different things.  I'm curious about the science.  Can you explain briefly how these two items act as mediums for the growing of vaccines?   The story says that the tobacco plants grow, and produce a protein.  How do eggs do the same thing?

Andrew Sheldon: Joseph, they are indeed very different technologies. Eggs that are used to make influenza vaccines are in fact embryonated eggs into which the live influenza virus is inoculated and left to grow for a while. The virus that has then grown in the egg is extracted, inactivated and split into smaller fragments, then purified. A vaccine from tobacco is a much simpler process in which we insert a genetic sequence, which codes the plant to produce a protein in the form of a virus-like particle. This process takes 5 days, after which we harvest the plant, extract the valuable vaccine and purify it.

B. Williams from Halifax writes:  I don't understand why Philip Morris is "very motivated," as the article states, to do something beneficial with the tobacco plant.  It won't help them sell cigarettes, right?  Are they doing it because they see vaccine development as a money-making way to go?

Andrew Sheldon: Mr Williams, Phillip Morris is exploring adjacent technologies to its current ones. They see a close fit between their knowledge of tobacco and its use to make health care products. The vaccine and biologics health-care market worldwide is one of the fastest growing markets and Phillip Morris recognizes this.

Janet L. of Richmond Hill, Ont., writes:  I was wondering where the projections about the size of the global vaccine market come from. Bird flu aside, is there projected to be greater health issues in the future?  Or is it because of an aging population?

Andrew Sheldon: Janet, there are many reasons for the growth of this marketplace, and I will give you some of them here. I am sure that some of the stakeholders in this area of prevention will excuse me if  I don't get them all.

Technological advancements are now allowing the production of many vaccines that were previously difficult or impossible to manufacture. Medicago is a great example of a firm that is bringing new technology to the area. There is now greater public awareness of infectious diseases,  which is creating the desire for programs that can protect us. This public awareness comes from such things as avian flu outbreaks, SARS, and the worries surrounding the use of biological agents as terrorist tools. It also comes from the hard work of public health professionals and advocates who have labored to get government funding for preventive programs over the years.

There is also a huge need in the developing world for cost-effective products; many organizations are now focusing in this area and it too will lead to a growth of the overall market.

C. Puello from Toronto writes: You got big financing from Philip Morris, but is Medicago still seeking other financing?  Or is it a given that this is it, and Philip Morris will eventually own the company?  Is your future a clear-cut path now?

Andrew Sheldon: Mr Puello, Medicago will eventually have to seek out further funding to support later-stage clinical trials as Phase 2 (safety trials) and Phase 3 clinicals are expensive, as they involve ever increasing numbers of patients as part of their protocols. We believe we now have a clear path, and the resources to attain our milestones and perform clinical testing in humans.

Dave Michaels, globeandmail.com: It's time to wrap up. But I have one more question: Can you reflect on Medicago's good fortune, to find this kind of financing, especially at the time you found it?

Andrew Sheldon: Although you are right - it is good fortune and especially at this time - it is really the result of good science and extensive business development work. Finding partners in today's financial environment is critical to a small company's success.

Although we have been working with PMI for some time now the latest investment could not have come at a better time. Currently we believe that in Quebec alone that 30 per cent of biotech companies have less than 4 months of cash and in Canada that 50 per cent of companies have less than 1 year of cash. Will this be enough to get them to the other side of this financial crisis? The likelihood is not for all of them.

Government action (federally and provincially) is necessary to support the industry. Remember this is an industry similar to the aeronautique industry in that it is an industry of the future where the returns come many years after the initial investment. Biotech Canada and Bio Quebec are actively presenting support programs as we speak to their various ministries.

If we want to have a viable industry that is creating jobs for the future, now is the time for government vision and leadership. Otherwise we will lose some of these companies overseas and end up importing many products that could have been made here.

Dave Michaels, globeandmail.com:  Thanks, Mr. Sheldon, for taking time to talk with us today.  And thanks to our readers, too, for contributing.