Sources inform ''Globes'' that UK-based Morria Biopharmaceuticals plc, which was founded on technology developed at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, is planning to hold a public offering on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) and to open offices in Jerusalem, in addition to its offices in London and New York. The company confirmed the report.
The company will aim to raise $5 million at a valuation of several tens of millions of dollars. The company is also recruiting lab workers and management for its new Jerusalem lab.
Morria has raised $7 million to date, mostly from private investors and family trust funds. It is a British unlisted public limited company (plc) that is subject to all relevant financial rules and regulations. It has filed audited financial reports for the past five years in order to keep its plc status, in exchange for various relaxations on raising capital from private parties.
Normally, a British company like Morria would go public on London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM), but it chose the TASE instead. The move reflects the TASE's reputation as an effective source for raising capital by biomed companies, notwithstanding five failures in the past few months.
Morria's drug pipeline is based on innovative anti-inflammatory technology developed at Hebrew University and commercialized through Yissum Technology Transfer Company. The company's lead products are multi-functional anti-inflammatory drugs, MRX-4 for allergic rhinitis (hay fever) and MRX-6 for contact dermatitis, both of which are undergoing multi-center clinical trials. More drugs are in the pre-clinical phase.
Morria president Dr. Yuval Cohen has a Ph.D. in toxicology from Curie Institute and the University of Paris V, VP preclinical research Dr. Joe Bondi was previously an executive at Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK), and chairman Mark Cohen is senior partner at the Pearl Cohen Zedek Latzer LLP law firm.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 13, 2010
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