Dutch gene therapy specialist to float on Euronext

Investment opportunity

Gene therapy specialist, Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics (AMT), a spin-out from the University of Amsterdam Medical Centre, is to list on the Euronext market in Amsterdam.

AMT focuses on gene-based therapies for orphan diseases, for which no cure, or at best symptomatic treatment is available. The lead product, AMT-011, designed to treat complete LPL deficiency, a very serious and rare metabolic disease, is currently in pre-registration clinical trials. In addition, the company expects to start a combined phase I/II study during the first quarter of 2008 for AMT-011 in the treatment of partial LPL deficiency occurring in the majority of patients with hyperlipoproteinaemia type V.

AMT says it will use the use the proceeds of the IPO, whose the size was not disclosed, for the development and commercialisation of its products and to build a specialised marketing and sales team for Europe and North America to sell AMT-011 for complete LPL deficiency, for which it expects to file for market authorisation during the first quarter of 2008. ABN AMRO Rothschild and Kempen & Co are joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners.

AMT was founded in 1998 around a long-term gene expression technology that is able to deliver therapeutic genes to specific organs or tissues. Production of the viral gene vectors has been optimised and the company has developed and validated a stable and scalable GMP production platform.