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| The Idylla system--Courtesy of Biocartis |
Biocartis has raised €100 million ($109 million) in an IPO that's also managed to trade up in recent days. The company could bring in up to €115 million ($126 million) if the bankers exercise their overallotment. That should be the case, since the IPO was highly oversubscribed--the company said it had more than €650 million ($710 million) in investor demand for the IPO.
The offering closed on April 23 with the sale of 8.7 million shares at €11.50 each. Trading started on April 27. By the April 28 close, the share price had ticked up to €12.58. The IPO valued the company at €450.2 million, or €465.2 million with the full exercise of the overallotment.
The IPO is a "testament to the quality of the science and technology at Biocartis and to the opportunities which precision medicine presents us. This successful fundraising gives us the support we need to deliver on these opportunities by ramping up our R&D and global commercial offerings for our unique Idylla system," Biocartis Managing Director and CFO Hilde Windels said in a statement.
Launched in September, the company's Idylla platform is an automated, real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) system that can use almost any kind of biological sample in virtually any kind of healthcare setting. The system can go from sample to result in about 35 to 150 minutes.
Its first commercial oncology assay is the Idylla BRAF Mutation Test, which enables the determination of the best treatment for melanoma patients. The company expects to roll-out four to five new assays per year.
Investors in the Biocartis IPO included local institutional and retail investors, as well as long-term specialist investors from Europe and the U.S.
Prior to the IPO, Biocartis had already raised €220 million from investors including Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ), Debio Innovation, PMV, Royal Philips ($PHG) and Hitachi Chemical. It already has partnerships with J&J and Abbott Laboratories ($ABT) to develop assays for the Idylla system.
The company has sold roughly 100 Idylla instruments, with commitments to purchase at least 127 more systems. Biocartis is aiming to be on the U.S. market next year and in China in 2017.
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