Lacklustre debut for RaQualia in Japan
This article was originally published in Scrip
Shares in the Japanese drug development venture RaQualia Pharma began trading below their offer price on 20 July, reflecting apparent investor caution over a new business plan released by the company the same day.
Shares in the Pfizer spin-out opened at ¥1,480 ($18.76) on the Osaka Jasdaq growth market, around 8% below the ¥1,600 float price, and ended the day at ¥1,500. The overall Nikkei 225 index closed up 1.2%.
The firm, formed from Pfizer's now closed Japanese central R&D laboratories, raised around ¥6.4 billion from the issue of four million new shares in the IPO, which was delayed by the 11 March earthquake (scripintelligence.com, 20 June 2011).
In an updated business plan released at the start of trading, RaQualia said that it is aiming to raise revenues to the ¥3.3-3.5 billion level in calendar 2013, from around ¥1.2 billion last year. However, it expects to continue making a net loss over the same period, although this is forecast to fall from ¥1.3 billion in 2010 to ¥184-319 million in two years' time.
The firm's business model is heavily reliant on licensing and royalty income deriving from development and commercialisation deals for its portfolio of projects, which focuses on the pain, anti-infective and gastrointestinal areas.
The venture has a solid pipeline of around 15 mostly ex-Pfizer molecules, and several deals with partners in Asia and the West have already been reached.