Abivax‘s latest funding round allows the biotech to move toward a U.S. launch of its bowel disease drug without backing from Big Pharma, CEO Marc de Garidel told CNBC after months of intense takeover speculation.
“Thanks to the cash we raised… We are in a position to have cash until the end of 2029, and … build up the right infrastructure to launch in the U.S.,” de Garidel told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Friday.
The French clinical-stage biotech, worth nearly 11 billion euros ($12.2 billion), raised $920 million last week after underwriters exercised in full their option to purchase additional American depository shares.
Proceeds will allow it to finance operations through 2029, including the commercialization of its lead drug, and only asset, obefazimod, in the U.S. and further clinical R&D expenses for the same medicine.
“The best defense for us is actually the offense,” de Garidel said Friday in response to a question about whether Abivax would consider a takeover offer at this stage.
It came after a volatile month for the company, where a late-stage trial for obefazimod for ulcerative colitis patients spooked investors with reported cancer cases in the study cohort, sending shares crashing as analysts questioned its commercial viability.
A part two dataset from the same trial showed malignancies were in line with normal rates to be expected for the patient demographic, leading shares to recover losses.
Abivax share over the past 12 months.
De Garidel on Friday emphasized the medicine’s “unmatched efficacy for the drug in a hard-to-treat population” and repeated the company’s stance that it is safe.
“When you have ulcerative colitis, unfortunately, your immune system is depleted, and you are more susceptible to a certain type of cancer,” he said.
Abivax will meet with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration at the end of July to discuss its New Drug Application for obefazimod, a so-called pre-NDA meeting, he added.
Takeover speculation
Its Paris-listed shares have, however, soared more than 1,600% over the past 12 months, potentially complicating price negotiations with aspiring buyers.
De Garidel told CNBC in March that he was confident it could secure a better deal following the maintenance data.
Analysts have modelled that an acquisition may be priced at as much as $23 billion and said Abivax could be a strategic acquisition for any large pharmaceutical company with an immunology and inflammation franchise.
