By Jim Shrine
Senior Staff Writer
Biopure Corp., which has been developing oxygen-carrying hemoglobin solutions for 15 years, registered to sell $86 million in an initial public offering.
The Cambridge, Mass., company is developing oxygen therapeutics for human and veterinary applications. Bio pures lead products are designed as an alternative to red blood cell transfusions.
The lead product for humans, Hemopure, is in Phase III trials. A similar product, Oxyglobin, was approved last year for treating anemia in dogs.
The offerings lead manager is J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. Co-managers are Adams, Harkness & Hill Inc., and Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc. Filings with the SEC did not specify how many shares the company is offering or the proposed price range of those shares. It did say all shares were being offered by the company and that the proposed maximum expected from the offering was $86.25 million.
Proceeds will be used to repay a loan to former partner Pharmacia and Upjohn Inc., of Bridgewater, N.J., as well as to cover capital expenditures and general corporate purposes, including the funding of clinical trials and marketing expenses. The company expects to trade on the Nasdaq exchange under the symbol BPUR.
Biopure said Hemopure a purified, modified bovine hemoglobin compares favorably to transfused red blood cells in that it is highly purified to remove possible infectious agents; has a two-year shelf life; does not require refrigeration; maintains full oxygen-releasing capability during storage; and has an abundant, low-cost raw material source (bovine blood).
The company also said the product has potential for use in other critical-care conditions such as trauma, stroke, heart attack and malignant hypoxic tumors. It said Hemo pure is significantly smaller in molecular size than red blood cells, so it can flow around partial blockages and through constricted vessels; is less viscous than red blood cells; is chemically designed to release more oxygen than the hemoglobin contained in red blood cells; and facilitates the release of oxygen from red blood cells.
Biopure uses a managed herd of cattle as its product source. It takes out red blood cells from blood that would have been discarded, extracts hemoglobin, purifies it and then chemically modifies it to increase stability and the oxygen-carrying properties.
The ongoing Phase III trial is investigating Hemopure as an alternative to red blood cell transfusions before, during and after surgeries. The trial is designed to include at least 640 patients. A Phase II trial showed 33 percent of Hemo pure patients did not require any units of red blood cells.
The company said it expects to file for Hemopure approval this year in South Africa and in the U.S. and Europe in 2000. The product is unpartnered.
The company said veterinarians report successful use of the canine product, Oxyglobin, in critical-care situations involving blood loss. It was approved in the U.S. in March 1998 and approval is being sought in Europe.
Biopures revenues for the year that ended Oct. 31, 1998, were $1.1 million, with a net loss for the year of $30 million. Revenues for the three months that ended Jan. 30 were $733,000. The company reported cash and equivalents of $14.9 million on Jan. 30.
Upjohn Inc., now Pharmacia and Upjohn, was developing Hemopure with Biopure until 1996. The pharmaceutical company maintains an equity stake in Biopure. n