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Tissue regeneration specialist TiGenix of Leuven, Belgium said it is to go public on the Euronext market in Brussels to finance the registration, production and marketing of its cartilage replacement product ChondroCelect, and to expand and accelerate the development of its pipeline of cell-based products.
PiperJaffray and ING have been appointed as lead managers and Petercam as co-lead manager for the transaction. It is expected the IPO and listing could be completed in the next few months, but no details have been disclosed as yet.
The company announced the listing plans as it unveiled results of the pivotal phase III trial of ChondroCelect, in the treatment of damaged cartilage. The trial compared ChondroCelect to current standard of care for cartilage defects in the knee.
Clinical outcome was similar for both treatment groups with an advantage for ChondroCelect. A comparison of the rates of improvement on clinical outcome parameters, such as pain and function, at 12 and 18 months demonstrated a slight advantage in improvement from baseline in patients treated with ChondroCelect.
In addition, a sub-group of patients treated within two years since the onset of symptoms showed a statistically significant superior clinical outcome in patients treated with ChondroCelect.
Based on the data, TiGenix said ChondroCelect has the potential to significantly increase the success rate of cartilage regeneration procedures. The results are sufficient for the company to apply for marketing approval in the US and Europe.
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