Dyax makes $30M placing

US drug discovery firm Dyax Corp says that it has agreed to sell 5.5 million shares of its common stock at a price of $5.65 each to the public in an underwritten public offering pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement. Dyax expects the net proceeds from the sale of the shares to be approximately $30.0 million, after underwriting discounts and estimated offering expenses. Also, the firm has granted the underwriter a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 825,000 shares. Deutsche Bank Securities is the sole underwriter for the offering, which is expected to close on or about March 14.

Dyax intends to use the proceeds from the offering for R&D and general corporate purposes, including funding the progress of its lead product candidate, known as DX-88, into a Phase IIb clinical trial for the prevention of blood loss during certain on-pump heart procedures, specifically coronary artery bypass graft surgery.