Opko raises $31 million

Ophthalmic and diagnostic company Opko Health Inc. (NYSE-A:OPK) raised $31 million in a private placement of 31 million shares at $1, which is a 17% discount to Opko's close of $1.20 on Monday, the day before the deal was announced. Investors included Oracle Partners; Oracle Institutional Partners; Vector Group; Nora Real Estate; Chung Chia; Grandtime; and Gold Sino.

Opko markets its Spectral OCT SLO device for imaging and measurement of posterior ocular structures. Opko also has bevasiranib, a Phase III trial of which was recently stopped after an IDMC said the siRNA targeting VEGF mRNA was unlikely to meet the primary endpoint. Opko said on Tuesday that it is still reviewing the data from the study, which was evaluating the compound to treat wet age-related macular degeneration (See BioCentury Extra, Friday, March 06, 2009). ...