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iBio (NYSE:IBIO) is seeking to raise $10 million for its plant-based vaccine production in a public offering.
The Newark, Delaware-based pharmaceutical company has priced 15,385,000 units at 65 cents per unit. Each unit includes one share of common stock and 0.75 of a warrant to purchase one share of common stock. The warrants will have an exercise price of 88 cents per share and will be exercisable in about one year from the date of issuance.
iBio said it plans to use proceeds of the offering for operating costs, such as continuing to develop applications for its proprietary technology, and business development, according to a press release from the company.
Among the company’s pipeline of vaccines and biotherapeutics are vaccines for H1N1 influenza, or swine flu, in phase 1 clinical trials and human papillomavirus, or HPV, as well as plasma-derived proteins and monoclanal antibodies, both at the preclinical trial stage. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation funded the company’s swine flu program through the Center for Molecular Biotechnology of Fraunhofer, USA.
“Our strategy is to promote our technology through commercial product collaborations and license arrangements. We expect to share in the increased value our technology provides through up-front license fees, milestone revenue, service revenue and royalties on end products,” according to documents filed by the pharmaceutical company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The company’s business model has come in for some criticism by analysts who say it is not on track to be a profitable company. Adam Gefvert of Seeking Alpha, who admits he is short in the company, betting that its share price will go down, said in November that the company represents a big risk for investors and that competitors in this market, such as Teva (NASDAQ TEVA) and Sandoz, the generic arm of Novartis (NYSE: NVS), will overtake and overshadow iBio.
For all the risk IBIO investors are taking, there isn’t much return to be expected from its iBioLaunch Platform. A company would have to pay IBIO to use its platform, but that company would have to do all the heavy lifting, including pushing its drug through the different phases and eventually marketing it. IBIO would only get paid a small amount because it wouldn’t have any ownership of the drug. And so far, IBIO was only able to get one partner since the beginning of the year.
Supporters, while acknowledging the Goliath-sized competition to the company’s David, claim the company’s platform can lead to the development of plant-based pharmaceuticals at lower costs than its competitors.