Allied Healthcare is selling new shares to to raise up to $6.36 million to further the work former Australian of the Year Professor Ian Frazer.

The company will use the funds to accelerate development of a vaccine for human papillomavirus (HPV), one of the world’s most common sexually-transmitted diseases.

The HPV program follows on from Professor Frazer’s development of cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil.

The funds also will be used for work on a Herpes program that also is being undertaken by Professor Frazer’s research company Coridon.

Institutional investors have already committed to buying more than 66.7 million new shares in Allied Healthcare, which at three cents per share will raise $2 million.

Existing Allied Healthcare shareholders are to be offered one new share for every five they own, also at three cents per share, which could raise a further $4.36 million.

The share offer is due to open on March 29.

“The key benefit of having additional capital on board for the company is that we will be able to push forward our near-term and most-promising projects,” Allied Healthcare chief executive Lee Rodne said in a statement on Friday.

“This will allow us to take them to the next phase of development and also help in generating shareholder returns in the immediate future.”