BioCentury
ARTICLE | Finance

Cash blast

Mesoblast's A$170M deal shows necessity of accessing investors outside Australia

March 18, 2013 7:00 AM UTC

The A$170 million ($172.3 million) financing by Mesoblast Ltd. (ASX:MSB; Pink:MBLTY) does not mean the financing environment for Australian biotechs is changing. Rather, the deal illustrates that Australian companies need to engage U.S. and European institutional investors to raise significant cash.

Excluding the A$1.7 billion ($1.6 billion) raised by hematology, infectious and inflammation company CSL Ltd. (ASX:CSL) in 2008, Mesoblast's private placement of 27 million shares at A$6.30 is more than double the next largest Australian biotech financing. In 2011, cystic fibrosis (CF) company Pharmaxis Ltd. (ASX:PXS; Pink:PXSLY) raised A$80.2 million ($82 million) in a rights offering...