Alltracel IPO raises 1.2 million euros

Irish biopharmaceutical firm Alltracel has announced the details of itsflotation on the Alternative Investment Market in London, UK (Marketletter June 11), noting that it has raised 1.2 million euros ($1 million). The company placed 826,000 shares, valuing Alltracel at about L33 million ($46.2 million).

The Dublin-based firm, which was founded in 1996, has 19 products in its wound-care pipeline. On the therapeutic side, it is about to initiate clinical trials of its lipid-lowering treatments, and noted that it is at "an advanced stage with controlled-release drug delivery systems."

Alltracel claims to be unique in that it offers its marketing partners royalty-free access to its products, which chief executive Gerard Brandon said will satisfy the firm's near-term goal "to increase the international reach of these products." The company's turnover in 2000 rose to L186,000 from L75,000 for the year earlier, while losses widened to L1.64 million from L820,000.