Israeli biotechs scoop $209M as Nasdaq ATM keeps pumping out dollars

Print 28 July 2015
Nick Paul Taylor / Fierce Biotech

A trio of Israeli biotechs have bagged $209 million (€192 million) through share offerings on Nasdaq. Chiasma ($CHMA) led the way with a $101.8 million IPO, trailed by follow-on offerings by NeuroDerm ($NDRM) and RedHill Biopharma ($RDHL) that pulled in $66.9 million and $40 million, respectively.

Chiasma CEO Mark Leuchtenberger

For Israeli-American biotech Chiasma, the IPO marks the latest step in its effort to bounce back from Roche's ($RHHBY) decision to walk away from their $595 million alliance. While Roche evidently saw insufficient reasons to keep working with Chiasma as the acromegaly drug at the center of their alliance neared commercialization, investors have taken a different stance. At the start of the month Chiasma was swinging for an $80 million IPO, around $20 million less than it eventually raised. And Chiasma went on a tear in early trading, jumping by as much as 35% at one point.

The company stands out in a sea of IPO contenders with big dreams and small achievements by having a drug that is on the cusp of winning approval in the U.S. As such, Chiasma has already overcome many of the challenges that can scuttle biotechs, with just the admittedly significant tasks of winning approval and generating sales still to come. The IPO is intended to help Chiasma with these jobs, notably by generating $32 million that it can invest in its U.S. commercial infrastructure. A further $15 million is set aside for a Phase III trial intended to lead to approval in Europe.

NeuroDerm also has the drug development finish line in its sights. The Rehovot, Israel-based CNS specialist will use $25 million of its recent fundraising haul to push a pair of Parkinson's disease assets through late-phase trials and into the regulatory approval process on both sides of the Atlantic. Both candidates are based around the idea of using drug delivery technology to release a controlled dose of a levodopa-carbidopa formulation. NeuroDerm also has a apomorphine-based product in development that will scoop up $10 million of its cash injection.

RedHill was vaguer about its spending plans, saying only that it will use the money for R&D, possible acquisitions and general corporate purposes. The company is flying high after posting late-phase data on its combo antibiotic for Helicobacter pylori infection.

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