Atlantic raises £1M privately, paving way to IPO in 2008

Atlantic Healthcare Ltd has raised £1 million in a private round and appointed financial advisors to plan for an IPO in mid 2008 on the Alternative Investment Market in London. The company was set up in 2006 to in license and develop treatments for gastrointestinal disorders and to provide drug development services to third parties. It is modelled on the virtual business model established by fellow Cambridge biotech Alizyme plc.

Atlantic sealed its first deal in April, licensing worldwide rights to alicaforsen, a Phase III antisense compound being developed for gastro-intestinal disorders, from Isis Pharmaceuticals, of Seattle. The compound is an antisense inhibitor of ICAM-1, a molecule that plays a key role in a wide range of inflammatory and autoimmune conditions, such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. It failed in a Phase II trial in Crohn’s disease carried out by Isis, but achieved positive results in Phase II in ulcerative colitis.

Alicaforsen is now being taken forward by Atlantic in three indications. The most advanced programme for the treatment of pouchitis, a complication caused by surgery to treat ulcerative colitis, is expected to be launched before 2010.

The proceeds of the proposed IPO will be used to progress this and a second clinical programme to market, and for further product and company acquisitions.

The company is not focused solely on drug development, but on healthcare as whole, and has ambitions to become what it describes as a ‘mini conglomerate’ with a number of operating divisions.