The Danish biotech Genmab has made a big splash on the Nasdaq, raising a €450M ($506M) IPO to fuel its antibody drug programs in cancer, autoimmune diseases, and more.
This IPO is one of the biggest in biotech history, behind the whopping €530M Nasdaq entry from US mRNA biotech Moderna last year. It’s also to be expected, coming from the company that developed the blockbuster blood cancer drug Darzalex in partnership with Janssen.
Genmab will use the money to push the development of its antibody drugs. The company has two antibodies in phase III, one being developed with Novartis for the treatment of the neurological disease multiple sclerosis, and the other with Horizon Pharma for the treatment of thyroid-related eye disease. Genmab has many other partnered and proprietary programs ongoing, including developing a preclinical drug with Janssen with the potential to outperform Darzalex in some tumor types.
With a market cap of over €10B ($11B), Genmab’s position as Europe’s most valuable biotech is secure for the time being. The company has proved popular with investors since the beginning, with a record IPO of €210M on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange back in 2000, just a year after it was founded.
By: Jonathan Smith
Source: Labiotech.eu
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