mchen@heraldsun.com; 419-6636
DURHAM -- Biopharmaceutical company Aldagen Inc. filed for a $80.5 million initial public offering on Wednesday, reviving the bid it had withdrawn a year ago.
In its registration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Durham-based company focused on further development of its lead product candidates, a family of drugs that uses an enzyme found in adult stem cells to promote regeneration of various types of cells and tissues.
Aldagen's most advanced product candidates are ALD-101, ALD-301 and ALD-201. ALD-101, an agent for improving treatment of inherited metabolic diseases in children, is in Phase 3 clinical trials. ALD-301, to treat critical limb ischemia, is expected to begin Phase 3 trials in 2010. Phase 1 clinical trials have been completed for ALD-201, for the treatment of ischemic heart failure.
ALD-101 received orphan drug designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last October.
The company is developing additional product candidates for cord blood transplants used to treat leukemias as well as for the post-acute treatment of ischemic stroke.
Company officials did not return calls for comment on Wednesday, and Intersouth Partners, the Durham-based venture capital firm that's a substantial investor in the company, declined to comment.
Gary Palin, executive director of Elon University's Doherty Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, said the IPO puts the company in a good position, and at the right time.
Thomas Amick, CEO of Aldagen, is chairman of the Doherty Center's Advisory Board.
"I believe this is a strong sign for the growth and future of entrepreneurship -- given the current financial state of the country -- to see a company positioning strongly and moving forward with an IPO," Palin said.
The company had a net loss of $10.2 million for 2008. The company also incurred a net loss of $6.7 million for the first nine months of 2009.
The SEC filings state that losses were mostly the result of its research and development programs and general and administrative expenses. Funding has come from a mix of privately placed convertible preferred stocks, promissory notes and bank financing.
Aldagen was originally incorporated in Delaware in March 2000 under the name, StemCo Biomedical Inc. It became Aldagen in November 2005 and now is located along Meridian Parkway in Durham.
Aldagen isn't the first company in the Triangle in recent for file for an IPO or offer additional stocks. Inspire Pharmaceuticals netted $109 million with its IPO in early August. Cree Inc. announced a stock offering in September that brought in $434.1 million. Talecris Biotherapeutics, which has facilities in Durham's Research Triangle Park and Clayton, launched an IPO in September that generated $950 million.
Aldagen plans to list on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol ALDH.
