Biotech stocks have taken advantage of this year's stock price boom to raise funds. As of the end of May, at least 30 companies have announced fundraisings totalling over NT$30 billion, setting a new record for annual fundraising in the biotech sector.
Among the biotech industry's fundraising plans this year, PharmaEssentia has raised NT$14.11 billion through GDR, while Foresee Pharmaceuticals, Handa Pharma, Tanvex BioPharma and Formosa Pharmaceuticals have all raised funds starting from NT$1 billion. In addition, the Board of Directors of Brim Biotechnology has recently approved an additional NT$1.8 billion in fundraising.
EasyWell Biomedicals board of directors approved a private placement of 50,000 shares to take the top spot in this wave of biotech fundraising, which will be conducted in three tranches over the course of a year.
Last week, Lin’s BioScience’s NASDAQ-listed subsidiary, Belite, also announced that it had received funding from several major international venture firms to complete a US$30 million capital raise to accelerate clinical trials of LBS-008 for retinal map atrophy (GA), which is an advanced stage of age-related dry macular degeneration. It is expected to be the world's first oral drug for GA and mid-stage dry macular degeneration, capturing a large unmet medical need in the world.
It is worth noting that in contrast to the past, the biotech industry has been dominated by the sector focusing on new drugs, with generics suppliers- Synmosa, Johnson Chemical Pharmaceutical Works (JCP), Anxo and EasyWell Biomedicals, as well as the medical devices manufacturers ConMED and Dyaco all joining the fundraising lineup this year.
The biotech profit-making kingpin, Bora Pharmaceuticals, has used a merger and acquisition strategy to grow its business footprint in recent years, but in order to control its share capital, Chairman Bobby Shen has adopted a "borrowing" approach and joined forces with PE funds to invest. Bora's EPS for the first quarter was NT$13.62, a new record for the Taiwanese pharmaceutical industry, and the biotech industry's first quarter profitability.
