Welcome to the latest edition of our weekly EuroBiotech Report. The downturn in the IPO market in London claimed its biggest biopharma casualty to date this week when Acacia Pharma postponed its planned £150 million ($231 million) listing. Acacia's decision to hit pause on its plans comes shortly after fellow British biopharma Shield Therapeutics backed away from its own £110 million IPO. Across the Atlantic, Strongbridge Biopharma ($SBBP) completed its Nasdaq IPO, but only after slashing its fundraising goal and leaning heavily on existing investors. Despite the struggles of Acacia, Shield and Strongbridge, companies are still rolling the dice on IPOs. Israel's Advanced Inhalation Therapies is looking to raise $40 million on Nasdaq, while Germany's Noxxon Pharma is popping across the border to Amsterdam in search of cash for its oncology programs. Finally, a co-founder and key early investor in Spirogen--which landed a $440 million buyout from AstraZeneca ($AZN) in 2013--teamed up to have another crack at building an antibody-drug conjugate-focused biotech: Femtogenix. And more. Nick Taylor (email | Twitter)
1. Acacia postpones £150M IPO as London market for big listings dries up
Less than two weeks after Shield Therapeutics pulled the plug on its £110 million ($170 million) IPO, Acacia Pharma has backed away from its plan to raise £150 million by listing on the London Stock Exchange.
2. Transatlantic alliance sets up son of Spirogen to develop ADC tech
A few of the key players behind Spirogen have hooked up to create a biotech focused on developing the next generation of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). The new company, Femtogenix, is aiming to replicate the success of Spirogen by reconnecting co-founder David Thurston and financier Research Corporation Technologies.
3. Noxxon files for IPO to take tumor microenvironment modulator toward PhIII
Noxxon Pharma has become the latest German biotech to head to Amsterdam in search of money from public investors. The company is seeking cash to bankroll the advance of NOX-A12, a drug designed to boost the effectiveness of other treatments through modulation of the tumor microenvironment.
4. AIT pushes ahead with plans for $40M Nasdaq IPO
Advanced Inhalation Therapies (AIT) has become the latest biotech to push ahead with plans to float on Nasdaq in the face of mounting evidence that investors are cooling on such offerings. The company is hoping its mix of Wall Street experience in the C-suite and upcoming clinical trial data readouts will make it an attractive proposition to investors.
5. Insiders help Strongbridge limp to a downsized $25M IPO
Strongbridge Biopharma has struggled through choppy conditions to complete a $25 million (€22 million) listing on Nasdaq. The rare disease player pulled off the dramatically downsized IPO by relying heavily on the support of existing shareholders, who snapped up 80% of all the shares sold.
And more articles of note >>