West Coast Editor
With approval of Hylenex in its back pocket and a plan to start marketing in the first half of 2006, Halozyme Therapeutics Inc. pulled in about $16.1 million through an offering of common stock, selling about 9.2 million shares at $1.75 each to a group of institutional investors.
The company's stock (AMEX:HIT) dipped 12.8 percent on the news, closing Tuesday at $1.90, down 28 cents.
Hylenex, a recombinant human hyaluronidase meant to improve the delivery of local anesthesia and other drugs, won clearance a week ago.
San Diego-based Halozyme's Cumulase, a recombinant human hyaluronidase for the treatment of oocytes in certain in vitro fertilization procedures, gained approval this spring under the FDA's medical device guidelines and was launched in June.
SG Cowen & Co. LLC, of New York, acted as lead placement agent. Rodman & Renshaw, also of New York, and Roth Capital Partners, of Newport Beach, Calif., acted as co-placement agents in the stock sale.
In other financing news:
• Oncolytics Biotech Inc., of Calgary, Alberta, entered a private placement with institutional investors for 3.2 million units at a price of C$5.15 (US$4.47) each, for gross proceeds of about C$16.5 million. Each unit consists of one common share and one-half of one common share purchase warrant, with each whole common share purchase warrant entitling the holder to a common share for C$6.15 each, for a period of 36 months after the closing date. Net proceeds from the offering will be used to support the initiation of the company's Phase II program with the cancer compound Reolysin (formulation of the human reovirus), and for general corporate purposes. Oncolytics' stock (TSE:ONC) closed Tuesday at C$5.60, down C17 cents.
• Cellartis AB, of Gothenburg, Sweden, completed a financing round of €8 million (US$9.54 million) led by a new investor, Finland-based Bio Fund Management. The company will use the money to boost development of various cell types for use in drug discovery as well as toxicology testing, and to generate GMP-grade cells in larger quantities for applications such as longer-term regenerative medicine. The company already has the largest number of blastocyst derived cell lines worldwide, with more than 100 international academic collaborations, as well as deals with several firms to commercialize cell technologies based on the cell lines, although that work is in the early stages. Also taking part in the latest round were existing shareholders InnovationsKapital, Catella Healthcare Investments, T-bolaget, Texcel and Barnwik AB.
• KeyNeurotek AG, of Magdeburg, Germany, raised €7.75 million, and at the same time disclosed its takeover of Sirenade Pharmaceuticals AG, of Martinsried, Germany, for undisclosed terms. Both firms are researching therapies for central nervous system diseases. Nearing the Phase II stage is KeyNeurotek's lead product, the cb-1 receptor agonist KN 38-7271 for traumatic brain injury, a condition for which no treatment is available. The firm licensed that compound from Bayer Healthcare AG, of Leverkusen, Germany, in June. KeyNeurotek's new funds will be used to support the development of the firm's portfolio, the company said. DVC Deutsche Venture Capital, of Munich, which also was a significant shareholder in Sirenade, is acting as lead investor in the financing round. The syndicate also includes IBG Beteiligungsgesellschaft Sachsen-Anhalt and tbg/KfW, existing investors in KeyNeurotek.
