Subscribe to Newsletter
Business & Profession Professional Development

Big in Japan

0314-207-arrows

The Seattle-based biotech Acucela is shunning Wall Street to sell 9.2 million shares of stock in an initial public offering (IPO) on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. At $17.65 per share, it should raise $162.3 million.

Although there’s no precedent for Acucela’s move, there are a couple of possible reasons as to why this US biotech firm has chosen to float  in Tokyo. First, the founder and CEO of Acucela, Ryo Kubota, is Japanese. Second, Acucela has many ongoing collaborations with Tokyo-based Otsuka Pharmaceuticals Co. The companies suffered a setback last year when a dry eye therapy that they were co-developing, rebamipide, failed in phase III. But Acucela has a pipeline that investors are likely to believe in. It includes emixustat (ACU-4429), an oral treatment for dry AMD that’s currently in phase IIb/III trials and that has already received fast-track status from the FDA; and OPA-6566, a topical glaucoma therapy that’s currently in phase I.

Receive content, products, events as well as relevant industry updates from The Ophthalmologist and its sponsors.

When you click “Subscribe” we will email you a link, which you must click to verify the email address above and activate your subscription. If you do not receive this email, please contact us at [email protected].
If you wish to unsubscribe, you can update your preferences at any point.

About the Author
Mark Hillen

I spent seven years as a medical writer, writing primary and review manuscripts, congress presentations and marketing materials for numerous – and mostly German – pharmaceutical companies. Prior to my adventures in medical communications, I was a Wellcome Trust PhD student at the University of Edinburgh.

Register to The Ophthalmologist

Register to access our FREE online portfolio, request the magazine in print and manage your preferences.

You will benefit from:
  • Unlimited access to ALL articles
  • News, interviews & opinions from leading industry experts
  • Receive print (and PDF) copies of The Ophthalmologist magazine

Register

Disclaimer

The Ophthalmologist website is intended solely for the eyes of healthcare professionals. Please confirm below: