Mar 15, 2017
Lytix Biopharma featured in Mergermarket article

10/03/2017

Lytix Biopharma to seek Swedish IPO at the end of the year

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Lytix, a Norwegian company developing novel cancer immunotherapies, plans to raise EUR 25m to EUR 30m in an IPO in Sweden at the end of this year, CEO Håkan Wickholm told this news service.

Lytix plans to list on Nasdaq First North, an exchange specifically designed for growth companies, he said on the sidelines of the European Life Sciences CEO Forum in Zürich.

The company has raised EUR 30m for its oncology pipeline to date, including a EUR 6.5m financing round that closed in February, CFO Torbjoern Furuseth said. Chairman and largest shareholder Gert Munthe, LMK Ventures and a number of Swedish family offices participated in the round, he said.

Lytix used Redeye to advice on the recent raise, which will help tide the company over until the IPO, Furuseth said.

Investors in that round also committed to the IPO, for which Lytix has to date secured EUR 11.5m of commitments, he said.

While the company has not yet awarded mandates, it is expected that Redeye will also help with the IPO, the CFO said.

The IPO proceeds will be used to finance Phase II trials for lead candidate LTX-315, an oncolytic immunotherapy which is injected into a variety of melanomas and sarcomas, Wickholm said. LTX-315 is currently in an ongoing open Phase I trial which will be completed in 3Q17. Phase II will begin in 2Q18, with data readout expected two years later, he added.

Peers in the field of oncolytic therapies include Amgen’s [NASDAQ:AMGN] oncolytic viral therapy T-Vec, he said.

by Patrick Winters
Swiss correspondent, Mergermarket
www.mergermarket.com