Ablynx grosses €50mm in follow-on public offering

Ablynx NV (single-domain therapeutic antibody fragments) grossed €50mm ($68.8mm) in a follow-on public offering of 6.7mm shares at €7.50, approximately the mid-point of its target €7.20-7.75 price range. The stock, which carried VVPR strips (coupons that provide a reduced withholding tax on dividends), was sold publicly to Belgian retail investors and to institutional backers in the US, Belgium, and other countries. The transaction will allow the company to hold onto assets longer, until they are clinically validated; invest in the development of partnered projects; and market certain candidates on its own, such as Phase I ALX0681 for the orphan indication thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura. Besides continued clinical development of its pipeline, Ablynx will use the proceeds to start human testing of ALX0061 and ALX0651 in rheumatoid arthritis and cancer, respectively, and to add more Nanobody targets.