InterMune raises $245.6 million in follow-on

InterMune Inc. (NASDAQ:ITMN) raised $245.6 million through the sale of 7.5 million shares at $32.75 in the largest follow-on so far this year topping the $211 million that Synageva BioPharma Corp. (NASDAQ:GEVA) raised earlier this month. Goldman Sachs; JPMorgan; Baird; Canaccord; JMP Securities; and Wells Fargo Securities underwrote InterMune's offering. The company proposed the offering late Wednesday, when its share price was $33.47. Synageva sold 2 million shares at $105.75 in its follow-on (see BioCentury Extra, March 6).

Last month, InterMune jumped $22.84 (171%) to $37.80 after reporting that Esbriet pirfenidone met the primary endpoint in the Phase III ASCEND trial to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) -- a trial to support U.S. approval. Investors had not priced in ASCEND results because of Esbriet's previous mixed clinical data for IPF. Doctors contacted by BioCentury are keen to get another tool for IPF that moves beyond lung transplant, but said Esbriet provides only modest benefit (see BioCentury, March 3). ...