Dive Brief:
- Telix, an Australia-based developer of radiopharmaceutical drugs for cancer, has canceled plans to raise roughly $200 million via an initial public offering on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
- The company, which is already publicly traded in Australia, cited the recent climb in its share price on the stock market there in a Friday statement announcing the withdrawal of its IPO filing.
- “Given the proposed Nasdaq listing was not predicated on the need to raise capital, Telix’s management and Board of Directors have decided not to move forward with the transaction at the terms provided under current market conditions,” the company said.
Dive Insight:
Radiopharmaceuticals are drawing immense interest from venture capital firms, large pharmaceutical companies and public market investors. Four companies in the field have been acquired since last October, while private startups like Germany’s ITM have been able to secure hundreds of millions of dollars from their backers.
Telix’s IPO was set to be another piece of evidence of that interest. The company has a radioisotope imaging agent already on the market, and has drugs for prostate and kidney cancers in mid- to late-stage clinical testing. Progress on those fronts has helped boost its share price in Australia from less than 10 Australian dollars in January to more than AU$16 at its last trading close.
As a result, Telix said its leaders determined the proposed discounts associated with the IPO were not “aligned with its duty to existing shareholders.”
“While this is not our desired outcome Telix’s strategic objectives must align with our duty to existing shareholders. I’d like to thank my team for the personal commitment and incredibly long hours put into this IPO process,” said company CEO Christian Behrenbruch.
Prior to its IPO plans, the company has been acquiring smaller specialists in the production of radioisotopes and their conjugation to targeting molecules like antibodies.
