Investment opportunity
Cosmo Pharmaceuticals announced details of its initial public offering on the SWX Swiss Exchange, saying it will issue 4.03 million shares at between CHF 22 and CHF 28 each. Bookbuilding began on 26 February and will conclude on 7 March, with trading scheduled to begin on 12 March 2007.
Chris Tanner, chief financial officer, said the proceeds from the IPO will be used to finance the development of the product pipeline, which uses the company’s proprietary MMX drug delivery technology. The money will enable Cosmo to retain control of its projects from preclinical development to commercialisation, and thus leverage its manufacturing business.
Proceeds from the IPO may also be used to purchase licences or acquire new products and molecules, and to buy or build a US sales and marketing organisation.
Cosmo’s most advanced product is mesalamine formulated with MMX technology to be a once-daily oral treatment for mild-to-moderate ulcerative colitis. The product is licensed to the UK pharmaceutical company Shire plc and received USA FDA approval in January this year.
The MMX technology allows the oral delivery of active pharmaceutical ingredients beyond the stomach and into the colon, in a delayed and controlled fashion.
Milan-based Cosmo has one un-partnered product in Phase III clinical development and two un-partnered products in Phase II, all focused on the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease and colon infections. The company also has three products currently being marketed in Italy through third parties.
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