A year after Nabi Biopharmaceuticals began seeking strategic alternatives at the urging of its shareholders, the company continues to streamline operations with its latest move, the sale of its biologics unit for $185 million in cash.

That news boosted the company's shares (NASDAQ:NABI) 23 percent, or 79 cents, Tuesday to close at $4.23.

Nabi's biologics unit, which comprises the firm's plasma-based assets, including Nabi-HB [hepatitis B immune globulin (human)], will become part of Biotest AG, of Dreieich, Germany, upon the close of the deal, expected in the fourth quarter, pending approval from both boards.

Biotest also gets Nabi's plasma protein production plant and nine U.S. plasma collection centers, and agreed to assume certain liabilities.

"We look forward to a new and really turnaround future for Nabi," Leslie Hudson, interim president and CEO, told investors during a conference call. Hudson assumed the top position in February to take the company through its "strategic alternative process," replacing former CEO Thomas McLain, who stepped down amid grumblings from some shareholders about the increasing cash-burn rate and the failure of the company's anti-infective vaccine, StaphVAX, in pivotal trials.

The company, which has been working with Banc of America Securities to explore its options, already has made several adjustments during the last year, such as divesting two noncore products and separating its operations into two distinctive business units: Nabi Biologics, which it is selling to Biotest, and Nabi Pharmaceuticals, which includes its burgeoning development pipeline of StaphVAX and smoking cessation candidate NicVAX.

"When I came on board, it was clear that there were two businesses that had become hopelessly intermingled," Hudson said. Nabi Biologics, which brought in $20 million in revenue during the second quarter "is actually a viable business in its own right, and we believe it will do well in Biotest's hands."

Shortly before announcing the Biotest deal, Nabi reported a positive meeting with the FDA on its biologics licensing application for Nabi-HB for preventing re-infection with hepatitis B in HBV-positive liver transplant patients. The agency had requested additional data before making a decision on the BLA. Nabi-HB, a human polyclonal antibody product, previously gained approval to prevent HBV infection following accidental exposure, but the company has said it believes the majority of sales would come from the liver transplant patient market.

Gregor Schulz, chairman of Biotest, said the acquisition will provide an "ideal complement for our European plasma business." The German firm operates three business segments - pharmaceuticals, biotherapeutics and diagnostics - and already has expanded overseas in diagnostics.

The addition of Nabi's business will provide it with a U.S. base for its pharmaceutical segment. As part of the agreement, Biotest will take on Nabi employees from the biologics unit, as well as the company's Boca Raton, Fla., facility.

Nabi, meanwhile, will move its corporate headquarters to its Rockville, Md.-based office, and focus on building its pharmaceutical pipeline and seeking a partner for its promising nicotine conjugate vaccine, NicVAX. Just last week, the firm reported nine-month data from an ongoing Phase IIb study, which demonstrated efficacy in supporting statistically significant and continuous abstinence rates by dose, as well as by antibody response, in smokers giving up the habit. In light of that data, Hudson said he hopes partnership discussions will follow, since NicVAX is a primary care opportunity that needs a large firm "with resources and cash to realize its value."

The sale of its biologics unit - along with its other activities in the last year, namely the November sale of PhosLo (calcium acetate), an oral phosphate binder, to German pharma firm Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA for up to $150 million in up-front, milestone and royalty payments, and the divestiture of oncology product Aloprim (allopurinol sodium) in April to the Irish unit of Bioniche Pharma Group for $3.7 million - should position Nabi as a company "worthy of investment," Hudson said.

He said Nabi is preparing to make a "series of decisions," such as the specific distribution of proceeds from the Biotest deal, and added that the company would disclose specific plans at a later date. Nabi, which reported a net loss of $4.8 million for the second quarter, had about $103.9 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of June 30.

Additional terms from its agreement with Biotest include transition services and the right of first refusal for Biotest to obtain rights to use Nabi's StaphVAX and StaphVAX intellectual property for producing Altastaph.

Following close of the transaction, Nabi will have between 60 and 65 employees remaining.