Apollo Life Sciences IPO oversubscribed and closes early

Sydney-based biopharma Apollo Life Sciences has closed its AUD$9.5 million initial public offering early and heavily oversubscribed, its underwriter Blackwood Capital said.

When asked what the market was currently like for raising capital, Apollo Chairman and CEO John Priest said: "I'm told it's not easy for some biotechs, but it really depends on the story. We didn't have any trouble."

Apollo offered 19 million shares at $0.50 each and expects to list on the ASX on June 29 with a market capitalisation of AUD$76.6 million, trading under the symbol AOP.

The IPO will fund the company's development of human protein-based therapeutics for ageing and immune-system disorders including Alzheimer's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and psoriasis, and chronic viral infections like hepatitis C.

"Apollo is the only company able to produce and sell human expressed proteins in commercial quantities, a point that drove strong demand for the IPO," said Blackwood Capital director Stuart Richardson.

The company's IP relates to human expressed proteins with natural patterns of glycosylation. Apollo is producing ligands and soluble receptors, Priest said: "Our proteins are really cytokines, chemokines, growth factors and hormones."

Glycosylation, or sugar attachment, determines, for example, how long a protein stays in the body, whether the protein reaches its target site and how effectively the protein does its job, said Priest.

"Human expressed proteins are central to protecting or acting against disease and are involved in the ageing process," said Priest. Apollo will be targeting sales in anti-aging cosmetics in the first quarter of 2006, an area it expects to generate strong sales growth.

Additional reporting by Reuters