German Alzheimer's drug developer Probiodrug plans Amsterdam IPO

[September 25, 2014] FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany's Probiodrug AG, a developer of treatments for Alzheimer's disease plans to list its shares in Amsterdam via an initial public offer (IPO), it said on Thursday, adding to the growing number of European biotech firms looking to share markets to raise new funds.

It is working on drugs to slow or halt the progression of Alzheimer as opposed to available treatments which mainly address the symptoms of cognitive decline, Probiodrug said in a statement.

The company expects data on its most advanced compound PQ912 from the second of three development stages typically needed for regulatory approval to be published in mid-2016.

The company's IPO plans show the growing interest in biotechnology among investors, which has been most notable in the United States but is now spreading to Europe.

Earlier on Thursday, British biotech firm Adaptimmune announced it had raised $104 million from venture capitalists to fund its work on immune-system cancer drugs.

French cancer immunotherapy specialist OSE Pharma also said last week it was preparing for an IPO.

Probiodrug, based in the east German city of Halle an der Saale, said it was seeking an Amsterdam listing because the Dutch Euronext trading platform was very attractive to life sciences companies.

In addition researchers at the University of Amsterdam will be involved in its clinical trials and important shareholders are based in the Netherlands.

Probiodrug's investors include BB Biotech and Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners.

Kempen & Co is acting as sole global coordinator and bookrunner for the IPO while Petercam has been appointed as co-bookrunner and Close Brothers Seydler Bank AG as selling agent.

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger and Ben Hirschler; Editing by Greg Mahlich)

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