Two gone, one steps up

With the disappearance of two publicly traded gene therapy companies last week (see BioCentury Extra, Jan. 14), perhaps it only poetic justice to put a gene/cell therapy company back into the IPO queue. Aastrom Biosciences (Proposed:ASTM), filed to sell 3.25 million shares at $8-$10. A $9 price would value the Ann Arbor, Mich., company at $119 million. Aastrom is developing the Aastrom Cell Production System, a cell culture system with disposable cassettes and reagents, as a more efficient and cheaper way to collect stem cells. Partner Cobe Laboratories has agreed to purchase $5 million of the offering, decreasing its stake to 23 percent post-deal. Hambrecht & Quist affiliates will own 14.2 percent after the IPO, while the State of Michigan's Venture Capital Division will own 10.1 percent. Other VCs and their post-IPO holdings include: SBIC Partners L.P. (4.7 percent); Brentwood Associates (5.6 percent); and Wind Point Partners (4.2 percent).

Meanwhile, Biora AB (Proposed ADS:BIORY) filed to sell 6.5 million shares at $14.50-$16.50. A $15.50 IPO price would give the Malmo, Sweden, company a $321 million market cap. Biora is developing biology-based therapies to treat periodontal disease and for use in oral surgery. The company's bankers - Morgan Stanley & Co. International and Alex. Brown - plan to sell 40 percent of the offering in the U.S. and 60 percent in an international tranche. Each ADS represents two ordinary shares. The securities also will trade on the Stockholm Exchange under the symbol "BIOR". The offering will reduce Euromedica Nordica's ownership in BIORY to 42 percent from 62 percent. Euroventures Benelux and Euroventures Switzerland will own 6.1 percent of the company after the IPO, respectively...