September 9, 2016
By Mark Terry, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
Maybe it was the calm before the storm. This summer was slow for secondary stock offerings in the life sciences in the Boston Area. However, this week five life science companies raised more than $2 billion in capital. Let’s take a look.
Sage Therapeutics , based in Cambridge, Mass., focuses on central nervous system (CNS) disorders. On September 8, the company announced the pricing of an underwritten public offering of 4,402,515 shares of stock at a price of $39.64 per share. As a result, it raised about $175 million in cash. Timing was good. The offer came only a day after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designated its SAGE-547 for postpartum depression a Breakthrough Therapy.
Sage Therapeutics is currently trading for $41.44.
CoLucid Pharmaceuticals , also in Cambridge, is primarily focused on developing lasmiditan for migraine headaches. It has three ongoing clinical trials, dubbed SAMURAI, SPARTAN and GLADIATOR. On September 6, the company announced that its Phase III SAMURAI trial had hit both the primary and key secondary efficacy endpoints.
On September 8, CoLucid offered extra shares of its common stock. It resulted in a doubling of the company’s to $20.64 at the end of Thursday’s close. It is currently trading for $22.18.
Thermo Fisher Scientific indicated it planned to sell 1.6 billion Euros of senior notes, which comes to about $1.8 billion (US). Based in Waltham, Mass., Thermo Fisher indicated it plans to use the funds to help pay for FEI Co., an electronic microscope company it acquired in May for $4.2 billion.
Thermo Fisher is currently trading for $146.10.
Lantheus Holdings
Lantheus Holdings (LNTH) is located in North Billerica, Mass., and manufactures chemicals used to diagnose coronary and heart diseases. On September 8, it announced it was selling 5,200,000 shares of its common stock. The company indicated it plans to use the money raised, along with cash it already has, to pay down about $55 million of the outstanding principal from its senior secured credit facilities. Lantheus is currently trading for $7.89.
Insulet Corp , headquartered in Billerica, Mass., is a medical device company. Its primary product is the OmniPod Insulin Management System. On September 6, the company announced it was going to offer $250 million in convertible senior notes due in 2021 in a private placement. It plans to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes.
Insulet is currently trading for $43.22.
Don Seiffert, writing for the Boston Business Journal, said, “Biotech stocks in general have been gaining for the past six months after hitting a low point in February. While Standard and Poor’s Biotech Index (XBI) is still down 9.4 percent from Jan. 1, it’s now near its highest point since the first few days of the years.”
