On the cusp of launching berotralstat as a treatment for hereditary angioedema in the U.S. and EU, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX) is planning to sell $100 million of stock in a secondary offering. The underwriters will have a 30-day option to purchase another $15 million, so the biotech could potentially gross $115 million in the offering.
BioCryst ended the first quarter with $115 million in the bank, having burned through $23 million during the first quarter, so the capital raise shouldn't come as much of a surprise, although it could have waited until later in the year to do it.
Of course, with shares up 142% since BioCryst announced last month that it was testing its antiviral medication galidesivir in patients with COVID-19, now seems like as good a time as any to grab some additional cash.
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BioCryst plans to use the capital for pre-launch and commercial activities for berotralstat. The Food and Drug Administration is supposed to make a decision about the marketing application on or before Dec. 3. And a decision in the EU is expected in the first half of next year.
The company also plans to use some of the capital to develop BCX9930 for complement-mediated diseases and for post-approval studies for its flu medication Rapivab that regulators are making the company run.
BioCryst was trading down 4% in after hours trading on the news of the secondary offering that will dilute shareholders by about 13%. The price of the shares being sold in the secondary offering hasn't been set yet.
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