Flotation Plans For Cambridge Antibody Technology

UK firm Cambridge Antibody Technology is planning to seek a listing onthe London Stock Exchange during the first six months of the current year by means of an institutional placing, it has announced. The company is expecting to raise capital in the L30 million-L35 million ($49.9 million-$58.2 million) range, and could be valued at between L85 million-L100 million, according to some estimates.

CaT is an emerging biopharmaceutical company with a business based on platform technology for the rapid isolation of human monoclonal antibodies to a diverse and extensive range of biological targets. The technology also has applications as a drug discovery tool, its speed and capacity making it particularly valuable in the field of functional genomics.

It aims primarily to develop therapeutic products through the early value-adding steps of pharmaceutical development, and will seek partners for the latter and more cash-demanding stages. It currently has four R&D programs encompassing the treatment of inflammation, fibrosis, cancer and obesity. Two of these candidates are expected to enter Phase I/II clinical studies this year.