Molecular Partners puts IPO on hold

The bookbuilding process commenced on 8 October 2014 and ended on 21 October. The price range had been set at CHF 28 to CHF 35, which implied a pre-money equity value of CHF 490 million to CHF 610 million. The first trading day of Molecular Partners AG's registered shares on SIX Swiss Exchange was originally planned to take place on Wednesday, 22 October 2014.

 

Without any further comment Molecular Partners announced today to put the process on hold. It would have been the second IPO of a Swiss biotech company this year after the IPO of Auris Medical in August.

 

About Molecular Partners AG

Molecular Partners is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that is developing a new powerful class of therapies known as DARPins™. DARPins™ are potent, specific and versatile small protein therapies which have the potential to offer benefits over conventional monoclonal antibodies or other currently available protein therapeutics. The DARPin technology has the potential to enable a “multi-benefit” approach to treatment which enables DARPins to target multiple pathways, or multiple epitopes on a single target to achieve substantial patient benefit. DARPins™ have the potential to advance modern medicine and significantly improve the treatment of serious diseases, including cancer and sight-threatening disorders.

 

Molecular Partners has four compounds in various stages of clinical and preclinical development and several more in the research stage, with a current focus on ophthalmology and oncology. Its most advanced product candidate is abicipar pegol, for which the company's partner Allergan plans to initiate a Phase III clinical trial in wet AMD in 2015. The company has ongoing research and development partnerships with leadingpharmaceutical companies including Allergan, Roche and Janssen and is backed by established biotech investors.