Staff Writer

Sweden's BioInvent International AB plans to raise SEK150 million (US$21M) by issuing 5.4 million new shares, money that could strengthen the company's position as it looks for new collaborations and opportunities to extend its pipeline.

Svein Mathisen, BioInvent president and CEO, said that the funds could stretch the company's cash runway at least two years. BioInvent has raised about SEK700 million since its inception in 1997, excluding this latest offering.

The company has "great ambitions to extend the pipeline with new compounds," Mathisen told BioWorld Today. That pipeline currently has four key programs under development in early to midstage testing.

TB-402 is a human monoclonal antibody that targets Factor VIII, a blood-clotting factor, and is being developed with ThromboGenics Ltd. A Phase II proof-of-concept study was initiated in February 2009 to test TB-402 in patients undergoing knee operations to examine whether the antibody can prevent thrombosis after surgery.

Also in the works is TB-403, an antibody that targets placenta growth factor (PlGF), an inhibitor of blood vessel development with potentially reduced number of side effects compared to current antiangiogenic treatments.

TB-403 has completed two successful Phase I studies, and in 2008 was partnered with F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., of Basel, Switzerland, which has assumed responsibility for all future development costs.

Another compound, BI-204, is a human antibody which targets the oxidized form of a low-density lipoprotein (LDL), called apoB100. BI-204 is being developed as a treatment for atherosclerosis, aimed at reducing the occurrence of heart attacks in high-risk patients. A Phase I study in 80 healthy volunteers with elevated levels of LDL has been completed in Denmark.

In January 2007, BioInvent entered a cooperative agreement with Genentech Inc. to jointly develop and commercialize BI-204. As part of the deal, BioInvent received a $15 million up-front payment from Genentech, and could receive further milestone payments of up to $175 million as well as royalties on sales in North America.

BI-505, a potential treatment for multiple myeloma, began Phase I testing this month. The antibody binds to the adhesion protein ICAM-1 (CD54), which is overexpressed in several tumors but is not widely expressed in normal tissue.

The new offering carries a subscription price set at SEK27.60 per share, representing a 0.6 percent discount to the one month volume weighted average closing price prior to the board's resolution to issue new shares. The directed new share issue is subscribed by DnB NOR Asset Management, (1,521,800 shares) and B & E Participation AB (3.913 million shares).

The share issue requires a vote from shareholders, set to take place at a general meeting Feb. 2.

Shares in BioInvent (Stockholm:BINV.ST) were down 3 percent Thursday, closing at SEK27.90.

Published  January 15, 2010