Shares of Peter Thiel-backed AbCellera Biologics Inc, which is co-developing antibody therapies with Eli Lilly and Co for the treatment of COVID-19, surged in their debut on Friday, giving the company a market capitalization of $16.18 billion.
AbCellera’s shares opened at $61 on the Nasdaq, 204% above their upwardly revised initial public offering (IPO) price of $20 apiece on Thursday. The Canadian firm had raised $483 million in its IPO.
The biotech developer planned to sell 23 million shares priced between $17 and $18 apiece, and eventually sold 24.15 million shares.
The IPO underscores a strong demand for new biotechnology stocks, with almost half of the U.S. IPOs in 2020 coming from the healthcare sector, according to data from IPOScoop.
The U.S. has purchased 950,000 doses of Bamlanivimab, a COVID-19 antibody therapy co-developed by Lilly and AbCellera, which has been authorized for emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. A supply agreement has also been signed with the Canadian government for 26,000 doses.
AbCellera has also got government support, receiving $30.6 million from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Platform’s pandemic prevention program and C$175.6 million ($137.57 million) from the Canadian government’s Strategic Innovation Fund.
Credit Suisse, Stifel, Berenberg, SVB Leerink and BMO Capital Market were the lead underwriters for the offering.
($1 = 1.2764 Canadian dollars)
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