Alchemia in final stages of demerger

Alchemia (ASX:ACL) is close to completing its demerger and spin-off of Audeo Oncology and has entered a trading halt that will remain in place until Monday December 17.

Audeo Oncology is about to kick off its IPO, offering 3.25 million shares of common stock at $14-$16 a piece in the hope of raising US$50 million ($49m) to help fund further development of HyACT-based chemotherapy treatments.

Audeo will focus on the development of Alchemia’s HyACT technology, which enhances the delivery of chemotherapy drugs to site of tumours, including HA-irinotecan, which combines with Pfizer’s Camptosar for the treatment of colon cancer.

Alchemia will focus on its existing business manufacturing and distributing generic fondaparinux, which is an FDA approved generic version of Arixtra, marketed by GlaxoSmithKline.

Alchemia’s (ASX:ACL) share price dropped fractionally from 59.5c on Tuesday to 55c just prior to the halt, although it has risen 83% over the last 12 months.