UK Stem Cell IPOs Defy Odds

01 Sep 2005

• By Melanie Senior

When ReNeuron Ltd. announced its intention to float on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in July, most onlookers gave a sceptical laugh. But the subsequent IPO, although small, showed that even risky, pre-clinical bets can float--if they're priced low enough.

When ReNeuron Group PLC announced its intention to float on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in July, most onlookers gave a skeptical laugh. Even the healthiest biotechs, crammed with late-stage programs, have struggled to go public in Europe. (See "Trade Sales Trump IPOs, Even For Platforms," Start-Up, September2005Also see "Trade Sales Trump IPOs, Even for Platforms" - Scrip, 1 September, 2005..) There was no way a firm working on stem cells—a risky, poorly-understood field fraught with ethical concerns—with no clinical programs, was going to make it. Particularly as ReNeuron had tried its luck on the public markets before, in 2000, only to be whisked back into the private realm by its lead VC Merlin Biosciences Ltd. three years later, leaving most investors out of pocket. [See Deal] (See "ReNeuron: Going Private," In Vivo Europe Rx, May 2003 Also see "ReNeuron: Going Private" - In Vivo, 1 May, 2003..)

But ReNeuron defied the skeptics on August 5, raising £9.5 million ($17 million) from a dozen or so investors—including some...