Pixium Vision, a retinal implant developer aiming to restore vision in the blind, has raised €34.5m ($46.7m) in its initial public offering (IPO). The Université Pierre et Marie Curie company is now listed on Euronext Paris and reached a market capitalisation of €100.4 million ($135.9 million) based on the offer price.
Individual shares were sold at €8.28 ($11.26). The shares have hovered around that price since the offering, and were worth €8.16 ($11.10) at closing time on July 7, 2014.
Bpifrance Participations has purchased shares for as total of €8.5m ($11.56m), representing 8.07% of Pixium’s capital, and gained a seat on Pixium’s board of directors. Biggest shareholders are existing investors Sofinnova (23.26%), Abingworth (16.36%), Innobio (12.54%) and Omnes Capital (11.50%).
Pixium, which secured €15m ($20.3m) in a November 2013 series A, plans on using the proceeds from the IPO to further clinical development of its Iris product, and bring the product to market in the US and Europe. It is also aiming to commercialise its Prima product in Europe. The products are based on research at the Université Pierre et Marie Curie, which spun out Pixium in 2011.
Bernard Gilly, executive chairman and founder of Pixium Vision, said: “The success of our IPO reflects investors’ confidence in Pixium Vision’s strategy. With our complementary technologies Iris and Prima, we are ideally positioned to become a world leader of the vision restoration systems market, and thereby enable people who have lost their sight to live more independently and play a greater role in society.”
