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IPO Tracker
Editor’s note: Biotech and specialty pharma companies had a very difficult time attracting investors in 2008: IPOs were almost non-existent, follow-on offerings dropped by two-thirds, and debt offerings became scarce, even for the sector’s elite.
In the end, these companies raised a mere $10.8 billion in new money (excluding revenues and payments coming from corporate partners). Public offerings – both initial and follow-on – accounted for 12 percent of that, or a tad more than $1.3 billion.
The companies queued up to sell stock in IPOs were hard-hit by steadily deteriorating market conditions: Bioheart Inc. was the only firm that managed to go public in the U.S. in 2008 – and that was in February. Most of the U.S.-based IPO-hopefuls, however, chose to retreat and wait for better times: Over the course of the year, 21 companies withdrew their IPO registration statements.
Overseas, four companies completed IPOs in 2008: Genera Biosystems Ltd. and Fluorotechnics Ltd. both debuted on the Australian Stock Exchange (in May and October, respectively); MolMed SpA garnered a listing on the Italian Stock Exchange (in February); and PCI Biotech Holding ASA debuted in Norway (Oslo Axess) in June.
Follow-on stock offerings suffered, too, with only 12 deals over the course of the year, in stark contrast to the 35 follow-ons that occurred in 2007.
As a service to its readers, Signals published this article in January 2008 to track U.S.-based public financings for the year. Throughout the year we updated the lists on a continuous basis. We tracked the progress of each IPO and follow-on offering and also kept a log of those offerings that were postponed or withdrawn.
What follows is the complete list of all public offerings made on U.S. exchanges in 2008. If you’d like to track public financing in 2009, please refer to the Signals article, “The Class Of 2009: Waiting For A Rebound.”
To make it easier for you to navigate this article, we're providing some internal links. The section that covers IPOs that priced follows directly. To check out the follow-on offerings, click here. For withdrawals and postponements, click here.
Completed IPOs
§ Feb. 19, 2008: BioHeart Inc. (NASDAQ:BHRT): Developing autologous cell-based therapies for heart damage. Lead product candidate MyoCell is composed of patient-specific myoblasts that are injected into scar tissue within the heart wall. On Feb. 19, priced 1.1M shares at $5.25 per share for gross proceeds of $5.8M. Underwriters: Merriman Curhan Ford and Dawson James (joint lead managers). First-day change: -5%.
Completed Follow-Ons
§ Aug. 7, 2008: Acorda Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:ACOR) priced a follow-on offering of 4M shares at $28.50 per share for gross proceeds of $114M. On Aug. 19, raised an additional $17.1M by selling the full overallotment (600,000 shares). Total gross proceeds: $131.1M. Underwriter: Deutsche Bank Securities.
§ Aug. 7, 2008: Illumina Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) priced a follow-on offering of 3.5M shares at $87.50 per share for gross proceeds of $306.3M. On Aug. 12, raised an additional $45.9M by selling the full overallotment (525,000 shares). Total gross proceeds: $352.2M. Underwriter: Goldman, Sachs & Co.
§ July 31, 2008: Incyte Corp. (NASDAQ:INCY) priced a follow-on offering of 10.5M shares at $9.00 per share for gross proceeds of $94.5M. On Aug. 6 raised an additional $14.2M by selling the full overallotment (1.575M shares). Total gross proceeds: $108.7M. Underwriters: Goldman Sachs & Co. (sole book-running manager); Morgan Stanley & Co. (joint lead manager); and J.P. Morgan Securities.
§ June 26, 2008: Sequenom Inc. (NASDAQ:SQNM) priced a follow-on offering of 5.5M shares at $15.50 per share for gross proceeds of $85.3M. On July 2, raised an additional $12.7M by selling the full overallotment (825,000 shares). Total gross proceeds: $98M. Underwriters: Lehman Brothers and UBS Investment Bank (joint book-running managers); Leerink Swann & Co.; Lazard Capital Markets; Oppenheiner & Co.; and Rodman & Renshaw.
§ May 23, 2008: Allos Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:ALTH) priced a follow-on offering of 10.8M shares at $5.64 per share for gross proceeds of $60.9M. On May 29, raised an additional $9.1M by selling the full overallotment (1.62M shares). Total gross proceeds: $70M. Underwriters: Merrill Lynch (sole book-running manager); Banc of America Securities; and Citigroup Global Markets.
§ May 7, 2008: La Jolla Pharmaceutical Co. (NASDAQ:LJPC) priced a follow-on offering of 15,614,834 units (which consist of 1 share common stock and 1 warrant for 0.25 shares of common stock) at $1.92125 each for gross proceeds of $30M. Underwriters: UBS Securities and Canaccord Adams (joint book-running managers).
§ Feb. 13, 2008: Opexa Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:OPXA) priced a follow-on offering of 3.5M shares at $2.00 per share plus 3.5M Series E warrants at $0.15 per warrant for gross proceeds of $7.5M. Underwriters: MDB Capital Group (sole managing underwriter) and GunnAllen Financial.
§ Feb. 13, 2008: Acorda Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:ACOR) priced a follow-on offering of 3.3M shares at $21.50 per share. Of those, the company sold 3,217,000 shares for gross proceeds of $69.2M. A selling stockholder sold the remaining shares. On Feb. 14, raised an additional $10.6M by selling the full overallotment (495,000 shares). Total gross proceeds to Acorda: $79.8M. Underwriters: J.P. Morgan Securities and Deutsche Bank Securities (joint book-running managers).
§ Feb. 7, 2008: Biodel Inc. (NASDAQ:BIOD) priced a follow-on offering of 3.81M shares at $15.50 per share. Of these, the company sold 3.26M shares for gross proceeds of $50.5M. Selling stockholders sold the remaining shares. Underwriters: Morgan Stanley & Co. (sole book-running manager); J.P. Morgan Securities (co-lead manager); Leerink Swann; and Natixis Bleichroeder.
§ Jan. 31, 2008: Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:RIGL) priced a follow-on offering of 5M shares at $27.00 per share for gross proceeds of $135M. Underwriters: Credit Suisse Securities (sole book-running manager); Thomas Weisel Partners; Jefferies & Co.; and Oppenheimer & Co.
§ Jan. 18, 2008: Seattle Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ:SGEN) priced a follow-on offering of 10M shares at $9.00 per share for gross proceeds of $90M. On Jan. 24, raised an additional $13.5M by selling the full overallotment (1.5M shares). Total gross proceeds: $103.5M. Underwriters: J.P. Morgan Securities and UBS Investment Bank (joint book-running managers); RBC Capital Markets; Needham & Co.; and William Blair & Co.
§ Jan. 17, 2008: Targacept Inc. (NASDAQ:TRGT) priced a follow-on offering of 3.8 million shares at $7.07 per share for gross proceeds of $26.9M. On Jan. 24, raised an additional $4M by selling the full overallotment (570,000 shares). Total gross proceeds: $30.9M. Underwriters: Deutsche Bank Securities (sole book-running manager); Lazard Capital Markets; Oppenheimer & Co.; and Pacific Growth Equities.
Postponements And Withdrawals
§ Dec. 23, 2008: Anacor Pharmaceuticals: Developing small molecule drugs derived from a boron chemistry platform. Lead candidate is a topical antifungal for treating toenail onychomycosis. On Dec. 23, the company withdrew its proposed $57.5M IPO. It filed the registration statement Aug. 31, 2007. Underwriters: Morgan Stanley & Co. (sole book-runner); Cowen and Co. (co-lead manager); Pacific Growth Equities; and Needham & Co.
§ Dec. 18, 2008: BioTrove Inc.: Developing micro- and nano-fluidic technology-based instruments and consumables for genomic analysis, high-throughput screening and molecular diagnostics. On Dec. 18, the company withdrew its proposed $75M IPO. It filed the registration statement April 1, 2008. Underwriters: Piper Jaffray and Lazard Capital Markets (joint book-running managers); and Robert W. Baird.
§ Dec. 12, 2008: Aegerion Pharmaceuticals Inc.: A specialty pharma company that is developing small molecule drugs for treating cardiovascular and metabolic disease. Lead compounds, which are in clinical trials, limit the secretion of lipids from the intestine and liver (lipid-lowering agents). On Dec. 12, the company withdrew its proposed $86.25M IPO. It filed the registration statement Nov. 20, 2007. Underwriters: Piper Jaffray (lead); Thomas Weisel Partners; Lazard Capital Markets; and Collins Stewart.
§ Dec. 1, 2008: Osmetech plc: Developing molecular diagnostics for use in hospitals and reference labs. On Dec. 1, the company withdrew its proposed $46.5M IPO. It filed the registration statement Sept. 11, 2008. Underwriters: Lazard Capital Markets (sole book-running manager) and Canaccord Adams.
§ Nov. 14, 2008: ChemoCentryx Inc.: Developing orally administered small molecule drugs that target chemokine receptors and related chemo-attractant receptors (which regulate cell migration and direct the inflammatory immune response). Lead product candidate, Traficet-EN, is in Phase II/III trials in Crohn’s disease and Phase II trials in celiac disease. On Nov. 14, the company withdrew its proposed $57.5M IPO. It filed the registration statement Nov. 9, 2007. Underwriters: Credit Suisse (sole book-running manager); Cowen and Co.; Leerink Swann; and Lazard Capital Markets.
§ Oct. 27, 2008: CyDex Pharmaceuticals Inc.: A specialty pharma company that is using its drug formulation technology to develop differentiated products for itself and its partners from those with known safety and efficacy characteristics. On Oct. 27, the company withdrew its proposed $50M IPO. It filed the registration statement March 12, 2008. Underwriters: Pacific Growth Equities (lead); JMP Securities; and Fortis Securities.
§ Oct. 24, 2008: Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals Inc.: A specialty pharmaceutical company that uses drug delivery and formulation technologies to develop new drugs from known compounds, primarily in women’s healthcare and pain management. The company has a late-stage pipeline of product candidates and also markets a portfolio of revenue-generating products. On Oct. 24, the company withdrew its proposed $86.25M IPO. It filed the registration statement Nov. 9, 2007. Underwriters: Morgan Stanley & Co. (sole book-running manager); Deutsche Bank Securities (co-lead manager); RBC Capital Markets; and Natixis Bleichroeder.
§ Oct. 22, 2008: Phenomix Corp.: Uses “fast follower” strategy to develop small molecule drugs directed toward clinically validated targets in diabetes, HCV infection and other diseases. Lead product candidate, a peptidase inhibitor, is in Phase II trials in Type II diabetes. On Oct. 22, the company withdrew its proposed $86.25M IPO. It filed the registration statement Jan. 25, 2008. Underwriters: Morgan Stanley & Co. and Credit Suisse (joint book-running managers); Oppenheimer & Co.; and Pacific Growth Equities.
§ Oct. 7, 2008: Aldagen Inc.: Developing regenerative cell therapies based on specific populations of adult stem cells. Four products are in clinical trials; the most advanced is ALD-101 to improve umbilical cord blood transplants used to treat inherited metabolic diseases in pediatric patients. On Oct. 7, the company withdrew its proposed $80.5M IPO. It filed the registration statement May 9, 2008. Underwriters: Cowen and Co. and Wachovia Securities (joint book-running managers); and Pacific Growth Equities.
§ Sept. 25, 2008: Fluidigm Corp.: Developing chip-based integrated fluidic circuit systems for use in life science research (including protein crystallization and genetic analysis). On Sept. 25 the company withdrew its proposed IPO of 5.3M shares at $14-$16 per share. It filed the registration statement April 14, 2008. Underwriters: Morgan Stanley (lead); UBS Investment Bank; and Leerink Swann.
§ Sept. 8, 2008: Insys Therapeutics Inc.: Developing new formulations and delivery methods for existing pharmaceuticals for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV), pain management, and other CNS disorders. Lead product candidate, dronabinol HG (a generic version of Marinol), is the subject of an ANDA for use in CINV. On Sept. 8, the company withdrew its proposed $86.25M IPO. It filed the registration statement Aug. 17, 2007. Underwriters: UBS Investment Bank (lead); JMP Securities; and Natixis Bleichroeder.
§ Sept. 5, 2008: XDx Inc.: Developing gene expression-based tests for the monitoring of immune-mediated conditions – especially transplant rejection and autoimmune diseases – that require life-long monitoring and testing. The company’s first commercial test – the AlloMap HTx molecular expression test for monitoring heart transplant recipients for acute cellular rejection – was launched in January 2005. On Sept. 5, the company withdrew its proposed $86.25M IPO. It filed the registration statement Oct. 23, 2007. Underwriters: JPMorgan Securities and Morgan Stanley & Co. (joint book-running managers); Piper Jaffray; and JMP Securities.
§ Sept. 2, 2008: Codexis Inc.: Developing biocatalysts for chemistry-based, commercial-scale drug manufacturing processes. On Sept. 2, the company withdrew its proposed $100M IPO. It filed the registration statement April 14, 2008. Underwriters: Credit Suisse Securities and Goldman, Sachs (joint book-running managers); Piper Jaffray; RBC Capital Markets; and Thomas Weisel.
§ Aug. 1, 2008: Zogenix Inc.: Specialty pharma company that is developing drugs for central nervous system disorders and pain. The company submitted an NDA for its lead product candidate, sumatriptan DosePro for treating acute migraine, in December 2007. On Aug. 1, the company withdrew its proposed $86.25M IPO. It filed the registration statement March 20, 2008. Underwriters: Banc of America Securities (lead); Leerink Swann; Thomas Weisel Partners; and Susquehanna Financial Group.
§ June 27, 2008: Bayhill Therapeutics Inc.: Developing therapies for autoimmune diseases that work by restoring the immune system to its normal state (tolerance). Two products are in clinical trials, including BHT-3009 for multiple sclerosis. On June 27, the company withdrew its proposed $86.25M IPO. It filed the registration statement Jan. 9, 2008. Underwriters: Pacific Growth Equities (lead); Lazard Capital Markets; Merriman Curhan Ford; and Punk, Ziegel.
§ June 9, 2008: Peplin Inc.: A specialty pharma company that is developing drugs for a broad range of cancers. Its lead product, for treating non-melanoma skin cancer, was isolated and purified from a plant source. U.S.-based Peplin intends to acquire all the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) shares of its parent company Peplin Ltd. as part of a reorganization in exchange for its own shares, which will be listed on ASX and NASDAQ. On June 9, the company withdrew its proposed $75M IPO. It filed the registration statement Aug. 9, 2007. Underwriters: Merrill Lynch (lead); Cowen and Co.; Thomas Weisel Partners; Leerink Swann; and Wilson HTM.
§ May 9, 2008: Elixir Pharmaceuticals Inc.: Using its knowledge of the pathways that regulate aging and metabolism, the company has created a platform for the screening and development of compounds to treat metabolic diseases such as diabetes and obesity. Two products for treating Type II diabetes are in Phase III clinical trials. On May 9, the company withdrew its proposed IPO of 5M shares at $14.00-$16.00 per share. It had postponed the offering on Jan. 16, 2008. It filed the registration statement Sept. 21, 2007. Underwriters: Credit Suisse Securities (sole book-running manager); Pacific Growth Equities; and Leerink Swann.
§ Feb. 7, 2008: Light Sciences Oncology Inc.: Developing Light Infusion Therapy, a light-activated drug/device combination for treating solid tumors. Several early-stage clinical trials have been completed. On Feb. 7, the company withdrew its proposed IPO of 5.25M shares at $14.00-$16.00 per share. It filed the registration statement April 21, 2006. Underwriters: Cowen & Co. (lead); Wachovia Securities; Jeffries & Co.; and Thomas Weisel Partners.
§ Feb. 6, 2008: Archemix Corp.: Developing therapeutics based on aptamers, which are synthetically derived oligonucleotides. Lead drug candidate is ready to enter Phase IIa trials in acute coronary syndrome. On Feb. 6, the company withdrew its proposed IPO of 4.5M shares at $12.00-$14.00 per share. It filed the registration statement July 25, 2007. Underwriters: Banc of America Securities; Bear, Stearns & Co.; and Cowen and Co.
§ Feb. 1, 2008: Biolex Inc.: Clinical-stage company that uses the aquatic plant Lemna to produce hard-to-make therapeutic proteins and to optimize monoclonal antibodies. The lead product, a controlled-release interferon alpha, is in Phase II trials in patients with HCV infection. On Feb. 1, the company withdrew its proposed $70M IPO. It filed the registration statement Aug. 13, 2007. Underwriters: Lehman Brothers and Deutsche Bank Securities (joint book-running managers) and Leerink Swann.
§ Jan. 23, 2008: BG Medicine Inc.: Formerly known as Beyond Genomics Inc., the company is developing molecular diagnostics based on biomarkers it discovers. Its product candidates focus on cardiovascular disease, cancer and CNS disorders. On Jan. 23, the company withdrew its proposed IPO of 4.5M shares at $8.00-$10.00 per share. It filed the registration statement Aug. 3, 2007. Underwriters: Cowen & Co. (book-running manager) and Leerink Swann.
originally published 01/15/2008 |