After the largest British biotech IPO in years, Imperial's Circassia makes our festive spin-out list.
Circassia
Institution: Imperial College London
Sector: Allergy Treatments
The scope for allergy treatments such as cat allergies and hay fever is estimated to be a $12bn global market.
In the largest UK biotech floatation this side of the millennium, Imperial College London spin-out Circassia brought in $332m in its March IPO. Trading at the top of its range, the IPO saw ICL’s tech transfer unit Imperial Innovations deliver over a three-fold return on investment for its £25.5m ($42.64m) stake, now worth £82m. Circassia’s primary products are focused on treating common allergies, such as cat allergy and hay fever.
Although it is now trading publically, the future looks bright for Circassia. Should it received the FDA approval the company is now aiming for, its cat allergy treatment alone will be on the way to providing relief to 24 million people in the US.
