LONDON - TranXenogen Inc of Shrewsbury, Mass., has seen its share price rise from #2 to #2.65 (US$3 to $US3.98) in the two weeks since it listed on London's Alternative Investment Market. When dealings in the shares began on July 18, the company was capitalized at #60 million (US$90 million), by the end of the month the market capitalization was #79.5 million (US$119.3 million).

The placing of 6.25 million shares raised #11.5 million (US$17.3 million) for the company, which specializes in the production of protein drugs in the albumin of transgenic chicken eggs. Earlier this year, TranXenogen raised US$3.1 million in two private placements. One of the leading private investors was Kim Tan, founder of London-based KS Biomedix plc, which is quoted on the London Stock Exchange. Tan stood down as CEO of the company, a specialist in sheep monoclonal antibodies, in May.

The money raised will allow TranXenogen to develop the first phase of its production facilities, and continue work on its four lead products: insulin, human serum albumin, calcitonin and human growth hormone. The company has a joint venture with U.S. Transgenics Inc., of Washington, D.C., for the development of recombinant human serum albumin, and the two are collaborating in the production of other proteins in egg whites.

TranXenogen also believes that its transgenic technology could be used for the production of monoclonal antibodies.

Steve Parkinson, TranXenogen CEO, said the company would speed up and cut the cost of bringing new products to market and also cut manufacturing costs compared to other production technologies. "With the funds raised through this placing, we are confident that the company will deliver on the development of a low-cost manufacturing system for important therapeutic proteins such as insulin, and potentially for a large number of monoclonal antibody products currently under development by the pharmaceutical industry."