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Market capitalisation of €175 million – the largest IPO by market capitalisation of a biotech on Euronext Paris over the past 5 years
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€25 million raised
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Alumna of Euronext’s pre-IPO programme TechShare
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5th listing on Euronext Paris in 2022
Paris – 18 February 2022 – Euronext today congratulates Aelis Farma, a biopharmaceutical company specialising in the treatment of brain diseases, on its listing on Compartment B of Euronext’s regulated market in Paris (ticker code: AELIS).
Aelis Farma is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company which is developing a new generation of innovative drugs for the treatment of brain disorders. Aelis Farma has created a new class of drugs that are specific inhibitors of CB1 receptor signalling by the endocannabinoid system (CB1-SSi). The company is currently developing two new drug candidates in clinical development, AEF0117, for the treatment of cannabis use disorders, and AEF0217, for the treatment of cognitive disorders including those linked to trisomy 21. Aelis Farma's Initial Public Offering (IPO) is intended to accelerate the development of its first two drug candidates, as well as its research and development programmes in order to provide therapeutic solutions for a number of diseases for which treatments do not yet exist.
Aelis Farma was listed through the admission to trading on 18 February 2022 of the 12,480,471 shares making up its equity and of 1,783,167 new shares issued under a Global Offering1, before the potential exercise of the over-allotment option.
The admission and issue price of Aelis Farma shares was set at €14.02 per share. Market capitalisation was approximately €175 million on the day of listing. The IPO raised €25 million altogether.
The Offering was a resounding success with international institutional and individual investors.
Pier Vincenzo Piazza, co-founder and CEO of Aelis Farma, said: “I am delighted to celebrate the IPO of Aelis Farma, which is developing drug candidates that are the first to reproduce a brain natural defence mechanism that protects the brain from the effects of pathological hyperactivity of the CB1 receptor in the endocannabinoid system, one of the main brain receptors which is involved in many diseases. This unique action mechanism allows a real paradigm shift in the treatment of brain diseases and gives us the opportunity to meet real unsatisfied medical needs, such as problems linked to the excessive consumption of cannabis, or cognitive deficits. This IPO allows Aelis Farma to go faster, stronger, higher, in the development of its current drug candidates and to diversify its portfolio with new innovative and differential components for other brain diseases.”
Caption: Pier Vincenzo Piazza, co-founder and CEO of Aelis Farma, and his team rang the bell during a ceremony this morning, in the presence of Camille Leca, Head of Listing France at Euronext, to celebrate the IPO of the company.
About Aelis Farma Aelis Farma is a biotechnology company founded in 2013 that has developed a new class of drugs, the signalling specific inhibitors of the CB1 receptor (CB1-SSi), of which two compounds are at clinical stage. In recognition of the discovery of CB1-SSi by the team led by Dr. Pier Vincenzo Piazza, CEO of Aelis Farma, when he was director of the Neurocentre Magendie at INSERM in Bordeaux, France, he was awarded two of the most prestigious French awards for Medicine and Neurology, the Grand Prix of INSERM and the Grand Prix of Neurology from the French Academy of Science, respectively. CB1-SSi, which target the main receptor of the endocannabinoid system, the CB1, have significant potential for the treatment of several brain diseases. Aelis Farma has already developed two “first-in-class” drug candidates, AEF0117 and AEF0217, and has a portfolio of innovative CB1-SSi for the treatment of other pathologies associated with disruption of the activity of the CB1 receptor. AEF0117, which targets disorders linked to cannabis use (addiction and psychosis), has completed a phase 2a trial, which produced positive results in terms of therapeutic efficacy and will enter phase 2b in the United States in 2022. In June 2021, Aelis Farma announced an option licence agreement with Indivior PLC, a pharmaceutical leader in addiction treatment, for the development and worldwide commercialisation of AEF0117 for disorders linked to cannabis use. Under this agreement, Aelis Farma received an initial payment of $30m (for the option to license) and, if the option is exercised after the phase 2b, would receive up to $440m in milestone payments, as well as mid-teens royalties on sales of AEF0117. AEF0217, which targets cognitive disorders such as those caused by Down syndrome, recently entered phase 1 clinical development. This compound underwent a comprehensive proof of concept using innovative and powerful predictive tests to assess cognitive functions. In this context AEF0217 showed that it is capable of completely reversing cognitive deficits in several experimental models of cognitive disorders: Down syndrome, Fragile X syndrome, as well as some age-related cognitive deficits. Aelis Farma has several CB1-SSis that are at an early preclinical stage. Over time, Aelis Farma has acquired unique knowledge and capability regarding the pharmacology of CB1-SSi and has broadened its portfolio of compounds and patents targeting treatments for several brain diseases. Headquartered in Bordeaux, within the Neurocentre Magendie of INSERM, Aelis Farma employs 23 people and benefits from the financial support of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, the INSERM Transfert Initiative, Bpifrance, regional investment funds ACI and NACO and from IRDI Capital Investissement. To date, its various research programmes have benefited from grants from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), BPI’s Deeptech programme, the European Union’s H2020 programme and from the “Strategic Alliance” programme of America’s NIH-NIDA (National Institute of Health-National Institute on Drug Abuse).