ITM has been producing radioisotopes for pharmaceutical companies from all over the world since the company was founded.
(Photo: ITM)
Frankfurt According to financial circles, the Munich-based company ITM, which specializes in cancer therapy, is planning an IPO on the Nasdaq. The biotech could be valued at between $1.5 billion and $1.5 billion if listed, people familiar with the matter said. JP Morgan and Jefferies organized the IPO, which could take place around Easter if market conditions permit. With the deal, ITM wants to raise money for further expansion.
“An IPO is one of several financing options for a company of our size,” said a company spokeswoman. ITM is evaluating different ways of financing. “When and how ITM will go has not yet been decided in any way.” The banks declined to comment.
Biotechnology companies from all over the world like to choose the US technology exchange Nasdaq for their trading floor. This is where the largest number of biotech companies are listed, investors are familiar with the asset class, and newcomers to the stock market often command the highest valuations.
In recent years, the positive environment in the USA has persuaded more and more German biotech companies to dare to go public in New York. In 2018, the Jena-based company Inflarx and the Munich-based antibody specialist Morphosys, which has been listed on the German stock exchange since the 1990s, went public on the Nasdaq. Immunic from Munich and Biontech from Mainz followed in 2019, followed by Immatics and Curevac from Tübingen in 2020.
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In November of last year, the Hamburg-based company Evotec, which is already listed on the German stock exchange, also went public on the Nasdaq. More than a dozen German biotech companies are now listed in the USA.
ITM develops cancer therapies with radioactive isotopes
ITM stands for Isotope Technologies Munich. Founded in 2004, the company develops and produces precise cancer therapies in which radioactive isotopes are combined with tumor-specific target molecules, as well as the appropriate diagnostics. This targeted radionuclide therapy is a new class of cancer therapeutics that aim to irradiate the tumor directly while minimizing radiation exposure to normal tissue.
Targeted radiopharmaceuticals are produced by coupling a therapeutic radioisotope to a target molecule capable of precisely recognizing tumor cells and binding to tumor-specific receptors. As a result, the radioisotope accumulates at the tumor, breaks down and releases a small amount of ionizing radiation, which can destroy the tumor.
At the end of 2021, ITM found a cooperation partner in China for its targeted radionuclide cancer therapy. The deal with Chinese pharmaceutical company Grand Pharma could bring the company up to 520 million euros in revenue plus royalties.
Under the terms of the agreement, ITM will grant partner Grand Pharma an exclusive license for the said products in the Greater China region and will provide the supply of the finished drug to facilitate clinical and commercial activities.
ITM has been producing radioisotopes for pharmaceutical companies from all over the world since the company was founded. In addition, the company, which employs around 350 people, has developed its own pipeline of products for the targeted treatment of cancer, including difficult-to-treat diseases such as brain tumors, lung or ovarian cancer and so-called neuroendocrine tumors, which arise from hormone-producing cells.
115 million euros collected in financing rounds
One of the ITM product candidates being licensed by Grand Pharma is a radionuclide therapy currently in late-stage clinical trials for the treatment of certain tumors of the digestive system and pancreas.
The second product candidate is still being tested in animal experiments, including in use against bone metastases. The diagnostic agent, in turn, is used to make the tumors visible using imaging methods.
ITM is majority-owned by entrepreneur Udo Johannes Vetter and various institutional investors. Vetter, who is also the chairman of the supervisory board, has been with the company since shortly after it was founded. In 2021, ITM had collected around 115 million euros in two rounds of financing.
More: Promising cancer therapy: Tübingen-based biotech company Immatics closes $900 million deal.