[Update 20/07/2015] After successfully closing its Underwritten Public Offering, DBV finally raised €255M ($281,5M) on the NASDAQ.
Original article from 16/07/2015:
DBV Technologies is going for its second fundraising on the NASDAQ, hoping for €223M. €68.6M were already secured last week from Baker Bros. Advisors LP. The money will allow the company to stay independent all the way until they deliver a potential new blockbuster.
Food allergies are on the march, especially in industrialized countries. According to the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the rate of affected children increased by 50% between 1997 and 2011. There is neither an explanation for this increase nor a cure for the allergies.
Therefore, food allergies represent a huge market for pharma companies. DBV technologies are one of the pioneers in this field, using its special patch system to treat peanut, milk and egg allergies. DBV’s lead candidate Viaskin, a peanut allergy treatment received breakthrough therapy designation from the FDA and – should everything work out – the company expects its marketing approval in 2018.
After entering on the NASDAQ as the first French biotech company to do so, raising a solid €90M, DBV increased its market cap up to €1.3B within several months. Today, it announced a new round of fundraising by a secondary public offering. DBV expects the gross proceeds to reach €223M ($244.8M).
Only last week did DBV secure €68.6M from Baker Bros. Advisors LP, which indicates that the French company can be optimistic about its fundraising. Don’t be fooled by Benhamou, the CEO of the company, and his modest statement during the plenary session of Bio-Europe Spring 2015, explaining that “every one of our steps is still a life or death movement”.
However, DBV doesn’t want to share all the payoffs of its potential blockbuster. “It would be a shame to involve a big pharmaceutical company that would pocket two-thirds of the value,” Chief Financial Officer David Schilansky told Bloomberg back in 2014. “We have the money, so we can do as we please.”
A reasonable strategy. Analysts from Edison Investment Research forecast a €1,9Bn ($2,4Bn) peak in sales with Viaskin. The expected €223M will definitely allow DBV to keep track on its game plan and stay independent for the next years to come.