Biopharma financing had a strong start in 2013; the first quarter – with 86 biopharma financings bringing in $4.6 billion – already exceeding Q4 2012, last year’s strongest quarter, which did $4.2 billion. Follow-on public offerings accounted for nearly half of the total funding; more than a quarter of the 25 FOPOs (9 deals) were completed by cancer drug developers, which accounted for over half the FOPO volume. Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. had the largest, netting $352 million from its eighth follow-on public offering [See Deal] since its 1996 IPO. [See Deal] Onyx sold 4.4 million shares for $81.50 each in the biggest offering for the company to date. (Its last FOPO in 2009 netted $311 million through the sale of stock/debt [See Deal].) Onyx will use the money to continue developing Phase III carfilzomib (multiple myeloma) and Phase Ib/II oprozomib (hematologic malignancies), as well as for the global commercialization of Krypolis (carfilzomib injection), which was approved by the FDA in mid-2012 for multiple myeloma patients that have already been treated with two other therapies, yet show signs of disease progression. (See Also see "Onyx’s Transformative Year: From Productive Partner To Big Cap Contender?" - In Vivo, 19 March, 2013..) Other oncology-focused companies also completed FOPOs, including Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc. ($310 million), [See Deal]Pharmacyclics Inc. ($201 million), [See Deal] and, in its first FOPO since going public last year, Tesaro Inc. ($92 million). [See Deal][See Deal] (See Also see "Flush With Cash, Tesaro Advances Rolapitant Toward NDA" - Pink Sheet, 8 March, 2013..)
Other companies that exceeded the $100-million mark with their offerings were RNAi therapeutics developer Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. ($174 million) [See Deal] – which also out-licensed its ALN-PCS RNAi...
