Firm hopes to release constipation drug in first markets during early 2010.
Movetis launched an IPO on the Euronext Brussels hoping to raise €112.4 million ($168 million). The offering follows just a month after the EU sanctioned the company’s lead chronic constipation drug, Resolor® (prucalopride). The IPO has been priced at €11.25–14.25 ($16.85–21.34) per share, and comprises a public offering in Belgium to retail investors, and a private placement to institutional investors in Belgium and other non-U.S. territories.
Established as a spin-out from Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Pharmaceutica business in 2006, Movetis is focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of new drugs for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases.
Resolor has been approved in the EU for the symptomatic treatment of chronic constipation in women in whom laxatives fail to provide adequate relief. The drug is also under regulatory review in Switzerland. The first commercial launch is expected in Q1 2010. Movetis aims to commercialize Resolor by itself in selected EU markets, and partner Resolor in other European countries. The drug’s active ingredient, Prucalopride, is also in development for the treatment of chronic constipation in men and children, as well as opioid-induced constipation and post operative ileus.
Movetis’ pipeline of GI products includes M0002, which is currently in Phase II trials to treat ascites, and M0003, which is progressing into Phase II development for symptomatic treatment of heartburn and regurgitation in patients refractory to PPIs, and pediatric reflux.
The company has also prioritized two compounds from a preclinical portfolio derived from partnerships with the Universities of Ghent, Leuven and Rotterdam, and is developing two compound libraries with the support of Flemish government grants.
