Nanobiotix IPO raises $18.1m

Nanobiotix, a France-based nanomedicine spinoff from the University of Buffalo (UB), has raised €14.2m ($18.1m) in its initial public offering.

Trading under the ticker code “NANO” on the NYSE Euronext, the Paris-based firm is trading 8,053,880 existing shares and 2,361,607 new shares at an issue price set at €6 a share. Market capitalisation was around €62.4m on the day of listing.

The money raised will be used with investment raised in a strategic partnership deal completed in August with PharmaEngine, which could see Nanobiotix receive as much as $57m, to expedite both cancer diagnosis and treatment methods utilising nanomedical technology.

Following the IPO, chief executive officer Laurent Levy, said: “UB has played a key role in the Nanobiotix story. When we launched Nanobiotix, we obtained a first license from UB, then a second one, that allowed us to build the first generation of products. We have been able to sub-license part of the applications of those technologies to develop products outside the cancer area. Those technologies will not be the first we will push to market, but have been essential to start our company.”

The company has a standing licensing agreement with UB for Nanobiotix’s main cancer-focussed magnetic nanoparticles nanoMAG and nanoPDT, and has been enjoying royalty payments on the back of Nanobiotix’s success.

Alexander N. Cartwright, UB vice president for research and economic development, said: “The success of Nanobiotix is a terrific story for UB to celebrate. The CEO of the company is a former UB postdoctoral associate and inventor from France who embodies the accomplishments and global prominence of UB’s research excellence. The transformative training our faculty provide, coupled with the entrepreneurial spirit they instil, enables our alumni to compete globally.”