Basilea To List On SWX (posted 2 June 2004)

 

Basilea Pharmaceutica AG ('Basilea') today announced its intention to list on the SWX Swiss Exchange through an initial public offering (IPO) expected to be launched later this month - subject to market conditions.

 

Commenting on today's announcement, Anthony Man MD, CEO of Basilea, said:

 

"The planned public offering is a very important milestone for Basilea and will provide additional financial resources to enable Basilea to continue the substantial progress made to date in bringing our compounds towards the market.  Over the last three years Basilea has created a fully integrated research and development organization that has advanced our three lead compounds towards phases II-III.  Now we look forward to giving additional investors an opportunity to participate in an exciting stage of our company's growth. 

 

Basilea has a broad development portfolio with three lead compounds poised to enter phase II-III.  We are committed to making these important medicines addressing severe infections caused by multi-drug-resistant bacteria (BAL5788), chronic hand dermatitis (BAL4079) and severe fungal infections (BAL8557) available as soon as possible to patients and physicians." 

 

The planned offering will include a public offering in Switzerland as well as private placements to institutional investors in certain other jurisdictions.  Basilea is floating to provide a public market for the company's registered shares and to raise proceeds primarily to support ongoing and new clinical development and research programs and for general corporate purposes. 

 

Credit Suisse First Boston and Morgan Stanley have been appointed joint global coordinators and joint book-runners for the offering with swissfirst participating in the syndicate.

 

Further details will follow at a press conference scheduled for next week in Zürich.

 

 

BAL5788 is the first of a new class of broad-spectrum cephalosporin antibiotics also active against multi-resistant Gram-positive pathogens such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.  BAL5788 has completed phase II clinical development.

 

BAL4079 is an oral retinoid for the treatment of chronic hand dermatitis that has completed phase II clinical development.

 

BAL8557 is a novel water-soluble azole suitable for both oral and intravenous administration for mucocutaneous and invasive fungal infections that has completed phase I clinical development.

 

 

Basilea Pharmaceutica AG is an independent biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Basel, Switzerland that is actively engaged in the discovery and development of innovative medicines for the treatment of unmet medical needs. 

The company's fully integrated research and development operations are currently focused on new anti-bacterial and anti-fungal agents to overcome the problem of drug-resistance in bacterial infections and fungal infections, as well as skin diseases all of which are associated with high unmet medical needs and growth potential.  Basilea was founded in October 2000 with significant resources to discover, develop and bring innovative medicines to market.

 

 

This communication expressly or implicitly contains certain forward-looking statements concerning Basilea Pharmaceutica AG and its business. Such statements involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of Basilea Pharmaceutica AG to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Basilea Pharmaceutica AG is providing this communication as of this date and does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.  For further information, please contact the following: