Circassia, a biotech spin-out of Imperial College London developing cat and other allergy treatments, announces plans for $285m initial public offering.
Circassia, a biotechnology developing treatments for cat, grass, and other allergies, has revealed aims of raising a £175m ($285m) initial public offering (IPO), making it one of the largest UK floats in recent years.
The immunotherapy developer’s IPO could mark a bumper pay day for Imperial College London’s (ICL) tech transfer unit Imperial Innovations. The company has led a number of rounds alongside other investors such as Invesco Perpetual and Lansdowne Partners into Circassia, which total £105m. Innovations’ stake in Circassia, currently 19.7%, represents around a quarter of the total value of its portfolio.
Circassia’s allergy treatments is based on ICL intellectual property, but the company also maintains strong links with Canada’s McMaster University through a joint venture. Founded in 1998, Circassia is developing immunotherapies for a number of allergies, including cat, dust mite, and hay fever. The company recently completed its phase II trials on its hay fever treatments, and aims to take a share of the estimated $12bn global market for immunotherapies.
Russ Cummings, chief executive at Innovations, said: “Circassia is a great example of our business model in action, supporting UK science and research alongside this high calibre management team and Board. Circassia benefits from a strong group of existing investors and this listing creates an excellent opportunity to build a leading UK-based biopharmaceutical company which is addressing a substantial and growing international market. The announcement of Circassia’s intention to float on the Main Market in London follows the recent NASDAQ IPO of Oxford Immunotec, illustrating the considerable strength in depth and maturing of our portfolio.”
