Cadence Pharmaceuticals, which recently saw its pain drug Ofirmev approved by US regulators has announced plans to raise $86.2 million, after costs.
The San Diego-based firm has priced a public offering of 11,500,000 shares of common stock at $8.00 each. The offering is expected to close on November 16, and Cadence has granted the underwriters an option to purchase up to an additional 1.7 million shares to cover over-allotments, if any.
The offering comes just over a week after the US Food and Drug Administration has granted marketing approval for Ofirmev (acetaminophen) injection, the first intravenous formulation of the drug to be approved in the USA. It is indicated for the management of mild to moderate pain, the management of moderate to severe pain with adjunctive opioid analgesics and the reduction of fever.
Ted Schroeder, Cadence chief executive, said “IV acetaminophen is the unit market share leader among all injectable pain medications in Europe”, where it has been available since 2002″. He added with aplanned launch early in the first quarter of 2011, “we believe that Ofirmev will fill a significant gap in the USA for the treatment of pain and fever in the hospital setting”.
