Jones Lang LaSalle
Biotech seeks public offering
Firm wants to sell $86.25M of stock
Thursday, May 18, 2006
By GEORGE E. JORDAN
Newhouse News Service
A New Jersey biotechnology company searching for treatments for rare genetic diseases has filed with federal regulators to sell $86.25 million worth of common stock in an initial public offering.
The Cranbury company, Amicus Therapeutics, says it plans to use the proceeds from the sale to continue development of three medicines, including a tablet to treat Fabry disease, a rare fat-storage disorder suffered by an estimated 10,000 people worldwide.
A preliminary prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission does not say how many shares would be offered for sale or at what price. It also did not provide a date for the public offering.
Amicus' research is focused on Fabry, Gaucher and Pompe diseases -- all rare disorders that cause a fatty substance to accumulate in certain body tissues. The prospectus says the disorders "represent substantial commercial markets due to the severity of the symptoms and the chronic nature of the diseases."
Founded in 2002, the company has lost $44.4 million and expects to continue to suffer heavy losses as the experimental drugs undergo expensive clinical trials. Most of its 52 full-time employees are research scientists who work out of a 32,000-square-foot rented laboratory space.
Amicus has received $55 million in seed money from several venture capitalists and the Garden State Life Sciences Venture Fund, which is funded by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.
Currently, Fabry, Gaucher and Pompe disease patients must undergo regular infusions of specialized proteins called enzymes. Amicus takes a novel approach to treatment: Its medicines, called pharmacological chaperones, are designed to repair damaged enzymes, making the infusions unnecessary.
One of Amicus' potential competitors, Genzyme, recently reported first-quarter sales of its Fabry therapy reached $80.5 million, a 15 percent increase from the first quarter of 2005, but short of Wall Street estimates of $83 million to $95 million.
Until Amicus wins Food and Drug Administration approval to market one of its drugs, it remains in the same situation as dozens of biotech companies backed by venture capitalists that use genetic engineering and knowledge of the human genome to search for targeted treatments. Only a handful eventually turn a profit.
Amicus is different in one important respect: The 150-page prospectus lists Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs as the lead underwriters, and Pacific Growth Equities as co-manager.
That gives Amicus the backing of three blue-chip investment banks.
George E. Jordan may be reached at gjordan@starledger.com or (973) 392-1801.
© 2006 The Times of Trenton
© 2006 NJ.com All Rights Reserved.
Biotech seeks public offering
Firm wants to sell $86.25M of stock
Thursday, May 18, 2006
By GEORGE E. JORDAN
Newhouse News Service
A New Jersey biotechnology company searching for treatments for rare genetic diseases has filed with federal regulators to sell $86.25 million worth of common stock in an initial public offering.
The Cranbury company, Amicus Therapeutics, says it plans to use the proceeds from the sale to continue development of three medicines, including a tablet to treat Fabry disease, a rare fat-storage disorder suffered by an estimated 10,000 people worldwide.
A preliminary prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission does not say how many shares would be offered for sale or at what price. It also did not provide a date for the public offering.
Amicus' research is focused on Fabry, Gaucher and Pompe diseases -- all rare disorders that cause a fatty substance to accumulate in certain body tissues. The prospectus says the disorders "represent substantial commercial markets due to the severity of the symptoms and the chronic nature of the diseases."
Founded in 2002, the company has lost $44.4 million and expects to continue to suffer heavy losses as the experimental drugs undergo expensive clinical trials. Most of its 52 full-time employees are research scientists who work out of a 32,000-square-foot rented laboratory space.
Amicus has received $55 million in seed money from several venture capitalists and the Garden State Life Sciences Venture Fund, which is funded by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.
Currently, Fabry, Gaucher and Pompe disease patients must undergo regular infusions of specialized proteins called enzymes. Amicus takes a novel approach to treatment: Its medicines, called pharmacological chaperones, are designed to repair damaged enzymes, making the infusions unnecessary.
One of Amicus' potential competitors, Genzyme, recently reported first-quarter sales of its Fabry therapy reached $80.5 million, a 15 percent increase from the first quarter of 2005, but short of Wall Street estimates of $83 million to $95 million.
Until Amicus wins Food and Drug Administration approval to market one of its drugs, it remains in the same situation as dozens of biotech companies backed by venture capitalists that use genetic engineering and knowledge of the human genome to search for targeted treatments. Only a handful eventually turn a profit.
Amicus is different in one important respect: The 150-page prospectus lists Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs as the lead underwriters, and Pacific Growth Equities as co-manager.
That gives Amicus the backing of three blue-chip investment banks.
George E. Jordan may be reached at gjordan@starledger.com or (973) 392-1801.
© 2006 The Times of Trenton
© 2006 NJ.com All Rights Reserved.
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 1:44 PM
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