January 3, 2017
By Alex Keown, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
PRINCETON, N.J. – Braeburn Pharmaceuticals Inc. closed out 2016 by filing for an IPO with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in an effort to raise $150 million.
The filing comes seven months after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the company’s Probuphine (buprenorphine) Implant to treat opioid addiction. Braeburn plans to list its stock under the ticker symbol BBRX, according to a Renaissance Capital posting. Probuphine was approved on May 26, 2016. J.P. Morgan, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank Securities are the underwriters for the IPO.
The filing comes at the end of a year that was rough on biotech stocks. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB) finished the year roughly 20 percent down from where it started.
Braeburn did not indicate the number of shares it would make available for the initial public offering. However, in its filing, the company said private equity firm Apple Tree Partners IV LP and its affiliates will purchase $40 million of common shares in a separate private placement, which will give them a majority control.
In the filing, Braeburn said it will use the proceeds from the IPO to commercialize Probuphine and advance its lead pipeline candidates.
In November, Braeburn announced positive top-line results from a Phase III trial using monthly injections of buprenorphine (CAM2038) for treatment of moderate-to-severe opioid use disorder. The FDA has granted Fast Track designation for CAM2038 subcutaneous injectable products for the treatment of opioid addiction.
In addition to the treatment of opioid addiction, Braeburn is focused on other treatment areas that could benefit from an implant, including pain, schizophrenia and spasticity. Braeburn has several primary treatments in its investigational pipeline, including a combination pain treatment of CAM2038 (buprenorphine) and Probuphine.
The company also has the experimental implant BB0817 that provides a six-month delivery of risperidone, the most commonly prescribed medication for the treatment of schizophrenia. BB0817 is currently in Phase III development. To treat acute post-operative pain, Braeburn is developing BB0417, a subcutaneous injectable formulation that delivers three to five days of buprenorphine and granisetron. BB0417 is currently in Phase 1 development. The fourth product in the company’s pipeline is BB1216, an implant that offers continuous, six-month delivery of tizanidine to treat spasticity. BB1216 is currently in animal testing of the formulation. In its filing, Braeburn said if the testing is successful, then leadership anticipates the therapy will advance directly to Phase III development.
Braeburn joined Cambridge, Mass.-based Jounce Therapeutics in filing for an IPO on Dec. 30. Jounce said it hopes to raise $75 million in its IPO. That company, which has a licensing and development deal with Celgene , will trade under the ticker symbol JNCE.
