UPDATE: Axovant rockets as IPO exceeds expectations

12 June 2015

Axovant Sciences, which is 80% owned by Bermuda-based privately-held Roivant Sciences, saw its shares nearly double in value after the dementia drug developer said its initial public offering raised $315 million, more than Axovant had expected.

The offering valued Axovant – which is developing an unproven Alzheimer’s drug candidate -at around $1.4 billion, and the stock climbed $14.90, or 99%, to end its first trading day at $29.90. It peaked at $31.17, reported The Associated Press.

Last year, Axovant’s majority owner paid $5 million to buy the rights to an Alzheimer’s disease drug that GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK) had given up on after testing it in numerous trials (The Pharma Letter December 29, 2014).

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