PrintIn a busy week for IPOs, three life sciences companies got their deals done even though they had to price at the bottom or below their target range. [See IPO story] Codexis raised $78 million through the sale of 6 million shares at $13 a share and began trading on the Nasdaq market on Thursday under the symbol CDXS. Although the company priced at the low end of its range, shares ended the week at $14, 8 percent above their initial offering price. The Redwood City, California-based biotech develops biocatalysts used in the production of pharmaceuticals and renewable fuels and chemicals. Burill & Company, the publisher of The Burrill Report, is an investor in Codexis.
During the same week, Amyris Biotechnologies, another Bay Area company in the renewable energy space, filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to go public through an initial public offering of up to $100 million of its common stock.
Alimera Sciences priced at $11 a share, 29 percent below its target range of $15 to $17, raising $72 million to begin trading on the Nasdaq market under the symbol ALIM. Shares ended the week unchanged. The Alpharetta, Georgia-based biotech's late-stage lead compound is a treatment for diabetic macular edema, which can lead to blindness.
DynaVox Technologies, a digital health company that makes speech software and devices to assist people with hearing disabilities, raised $140.6 million, selling 9.4 million shares at $15 a share, again at the bottom of its price range. Shares ended the week up 1 percent. DynaVox, which will trade on the Nasdaq under the symbol DVOX, booked $105 million in sales in 2009.
The digital health space is gaining increased interest. Sotera Wireless, a developer of patient monitoring technology, raised $10.75 million in venture capital in a series C round led by West Family Holdings with participation of existing investors Sanderling Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures and Intel Capital. Sotera will use the funds to help commercialize its cuff-less patient vital-sign monitoring system.
Catabasis Pharmaceuticals today completed a $39.6 million series A financing led by SV Life Sciences, Clarus Ventures, and MedImmune Ventures with participation by Advanced Technology Ventures. Proceeds from the financing will be used to advance the Cambridge, Massachusetts biotech's lead program targeting type 2 diabetes, and to further the development of the company's proprietary platform technology in additional inflammatory and metabolic diseases. Catabasis' pipeline of molecules amplify the beneficial effects of salicylates and omega-3 fatty acids to target the underlying etiologies of a spectrum of inflammatory and metabolic diseases.
Aragon Pharmaceuticals raised $22 million in a series B financing round that included new investor Aisling Capital and existing investors OrbiMed Advisors and The Column Group. The financing brings the total amount raised to $30 million since the company's formation in May 2009. The San Diego biotech is developing first-in-class and best-in-class drugs for hormonally driven cancers. The funds will help the company advance its lead compound ARN-509 for the treatment of castration-resistant prostate cancer into clinical trials and continue to develop its pipeline of selective androgen receptor and selective estrogen receptor degraders for the treatment of prostate and breast cancers.
Finally, Array BioPharma entered into a $467 million early stage agreement with Swiss biopharma Novartis for the worldwide development of Array's small-molecule MEK inhibitors ARRY-162, currently in a phase 1 cancer trial, its back-up, ARRY-300, and other MEK inhibitors. MEK is a key protein kinase in the RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK pathway, which signals cancer cell proliferation and survival, and has been shown to be frequently activated in cancer, particularly in tumors that have mutations in the RAS and RAF pathways.
Under the terms of their deal, Array will initially receive $45 million in an upfront and milestone payment and is eligible to receive an additional $422 million if certain clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones are achieved. Array also plans to co-develop ARRY-162 in one or more specific indications and fund a portion of development costs. Array will get double-digit royalties on sales of approved drugs outside of the United States with a significantly higher royalty rate for U.S. sales if it meets its co-funding obligations. Array also has a co-detailing right in the United States for approved drugs.
| WEEK ENDING APRIL 23, 2010 GLOBAL VENTURE FINANCINGS | |||
| Company | Location | Amount Raised ($M) | Principal Focus |
| Horizon Pharma | Northbrook, IL | N/A | Neurology |
| Sotera Wireless | San Diego, CA | 10.75 | Patient monitoring |
| Rheonix | Ithaca, NY | 12.60 | Analytic platform |
| Liquidia Technologies | Research Triangle Park, NC | 5.00 | Vaccines |
| Gemin X Pharmaceuticals | Malvern, PA | 16.00 | Oncology |
| Hemaquest Pharmaceuticals | Seattle, WA | 6.00 | Genetic disorders |
| Catabasis Pharmaceuticals | Cambridge, MA | 39.60 | Inflammatory, metabolic |
| Verifica-BG | Lexington< MA | 0.85 | Medical devices |
| Aragon Pharmaceuticals | San Diego, CA | 22.00 | Oncology |
| Denali Medical | Plymouth, MN | 4.00 | Medical devices |
| Pluromed | Woburn, MA | 1.10 | Medical devices |
| ProtAb | Jerusalem, Israel | 4.00 | Autoimmune |
| TOTAL RAISED US | $117.90 | ||
| TOTAL RAISED EX-US | $4.00 | ||
| GRANTS AND CONTRACTS | |||
| Company | Funding/Contracting Agency | Amount ($M) | Principal Focus |
| NanoImaging Services | NIH National Center for Research Resources | 0.20 | Imaging |
| Protein Potential | NIH SBIR | 3.00 | Vaccine |
| Genovis | LMK Industri | 0.08 | Nanostructures |
| DiscoveryBioMed | NIH SBIR | 0.20 | Chemical libraries |
| ZenBio | NIH SBIR | N/A | Cell models |
| Bioniche Life Sciences | FedDev Ontario | 0.75 | Vaccines |
| Lucigen | NIH SBIR | 1.70 | Virus detection |
| Research & Diagnostic Antibodies | National Institute of General Medical Sciences | 2.60 | Sepsis |
| TOTAL: | $8.53 | ||
| PUBLIC FINANCINGS | |||
| Company | Funding/Contracting Agency | Amount ($M) | Financing Type |
| Codexis | CDXS | $78.00 | IPO |
| Alimera Sciences | ALIM | $72.00 | IPO |
| DynaVox Technologies | DVOX | $140.60 | IPO |
| Global Health Ventures | OTC:BHLV | 0.50 | PIPE |
| Bovie Medical | BVX | 3.00 | PIPE |
| Stellar Biotechnologies (Canada) | TSX-V:KLH | 3.20 | PIPE |
| Pacgen Biopharmaceuticals (Canada) | TSX-V:PGA | 0.60 | PIPE |
| Aeterna Zentaris (Canada) | AEZS | 15.00 | PIPE |
| EntreMed | ENMD | 3.00 | PIPE--RDO |
| Adherex Technologies (Canada) | TSX:ADH | 7.20 | PIPE |
| Kun Run Biotechnology (China) | OTC:KURU | 8.00 | PIPE |
| Exact Sciences | EXAS | 18.90 | Follow on |
| NPS Pharmaceuticals | NPSP | 49.50 | Follow on |
| Ablynx (Belgium) | Euronext:ABLX | 2.20 | Follow on--overallotments |
| Hansen Medical | HNSN | 29.80 | Follow on |
| Alphatec Holdings | ATEC | 42.50 | Follow on |
| Nile Therapeutics | NLTX | 4.00 | Follow on |
| Thermo Fisher Scientific | TMO | $750.00 | Debt |
| TOTAL PUBLIC FINANCINGS-US | $1,191.80 | ||
| Ex-US | $36.20 | ||
| M&A | |||
| Acquirer | Target | Deal Value in $M | Focus |
| Novartis (Switzerland) | Oriel Therapeutics | N/A | Generics |
| Paul Capital Healthcare | Dyax' royalty stream | $12.00 | Royalty rights |
| Valeant Pharmaceuticals | Private Brazilian pharma | $56.00 | Generics |
| bioMerieux (France) | Knome equity stake | $5.00 | Genomic sequencing |
| Alliances | |||
| Company/Licensee | Company/Licenser | Deal Value in $M | Focus |
| Genentech (Roche-Swiwtzerland) | Seattle Genetics | N/A | Antibody-drug conjugate license |
| LabCorp | Duke University Medical Center | N/A | Biomarker joint venture |
| Takeda Cambridge (UK subsidiary of Takeda Pharmaceuticals-Japan) | Dimerix Bioscience (Australia) | N/A | Drug discovery collaboration |
| Clovis Oncology | Ventana Medical Systems | N/A | Companion Diagnostics collaboration |
| Novartis (Switzerland) | Array BioPharma | $467.00 | Oncology collaboration |
| International AIDS Vaccine Initiative | Lentigen | N/A | AIDS vaccine development |
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