58.9 F
San Diego
Monday, Mar 18, 2024
-Advertisement-

Market Pumps Up Tandem’s Shares 28% on Its Nasdaq Debut

Some happy news for the biotech IPO circuit: On its first day of trading on the Nasdaq, shares for Tandem Diabetes Care Inc. soared 28 percent — or $4.26 — closing day trading at $19.26. It trades on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol TNDM.

In the days leading to its IPO, Tandem upped the ante of its previously announced initial public offering — increasing the targeted goal from $100 million to $120 million.

The company said it would release 8 million shares priced $15 apiece. Earlier this month, the company planned on releasing 7.1 million shares priced at $13 to $15 per share. With a $19.26 price tag for the first day, it’s outpaced Wall Street’s more optimistic expectations.

Tandem’s flagship product, the t:slim insulin pump, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in November 2011. The touchscreen device, which has the size and general appearance of a smartphone, has a smaller pumping mechanism than standard devices on the marketplace.

The company plans to use the funds to expand its sales and marketing infrastructure, broaden third-party payor coverage to allow access for a larger patient pool to the products, and make its San Diego manufacturing facility more efficient. The company, founded in 2006, develops insulin dispensing devices that have the look and feel of a smartphone. Tandem brought in $21 million in sales for the 12 months ended Sept. 30.

The company employed 270 as of the end of June, it said in its Oct. 7 prospectus.

• • •

San Diego DNA sequencing company Illumina Inc. appointed Francis deSouza, a Bay Area computer security executive, as its president. He will join the company in December.

DeSouza will lead Illumina’s business units and be responsible for conceptualizing, developing and producing the company’s products, Illumina (Nasdaq: ILMN) said, in a statement. He will report to CEO Jay Flatley.

DeSouza is moving to Illumina from Symantec Corp., a Mountain View-based computer security company, where he was president of products and services. Prior to that, he was co-founder and CEO of IMlogic Inc., an instant messaging software maker that was acquired by Symantec (Nasdaq: SYMC) in 2006. He also was co-founder and CEO of Flash Communications, a provider of corporate instant messaging that was acquired by Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) in 1998.

DeSouza is board chairman of MedHelp, a large online health community.

“Francis’ broad technology background, his experience in providing complex technology solutions, and his roles in scaling and leading both entrepreneurial startups and large enterprises make him ideal for the role,” Flatley said, in a statement. “We are very excited to have Francis join our team.”

• • •

San Diego-based Sorrento Therapeutics Inc. announced it has acquired Concortis BioSystems, also a San Diego biotech, in a deal worth about $12 million. Sorrento will issue about 1.3 million shares of its common stock to Concortis’ shareholders as part of the deal’s terms.

The company said the acquisition will allow Sorrento Therapeutics (Nasdaq: SRNE) to develop antibody-drug conjugates – a new class of potent biopharmaceutical drugs for targeted cancer treatment.

This has been a pivotal year for Sorrento Therapeutics, as it has also this year acquired New York-based Sherrington Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Fountain Valley-based Igdrasol Inc. for undisclosed sums. It also transitioned from the over-the-counter markets to the Nasdaq, and recently closed a $30 million stock offering.

Shares remained unmoved after the announcement was made, closing at $8.74 on both Nov. 13 and Nov. 14. However, shares for the company have more than doubled since the start of the year — and its market capitalization has risen from about $60 million to $144 million.

Sorrento Therapeutics has a number of drugs in its pipeline, with a focus on a number of cancers, as well as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and inflammatory disorders.

-Advertisement-

Featured Articles

Oberon Eyes Europe for Renewable DME

Leaders of Influence in Law 2024

-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-

Related Articles

-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-