Medgenics, Philly gene-therapy firm, raises $21M in share sale

Medgenics, a Wayne-based firm developing gene therapies in cooperation with Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia to treat kidney anemia and other blood problems using a patient's own tissue, says it has raised at least $21 million in a public stock offering, selling 5.125 million shares at $4.10/share, with additional shares available to Piper Jaffray & Co., JMP Securities and other brokers that led the sale.

The stock, listed on the New York Stock Exchange (MDGN) since 2011, has been thinly traded. The sale price was a fraction of the $15 Medgenics reached at its 2012 peak; discounts aren't unusual for biotech shares in this market, noted Brian Piper, vice president for finance, told me. The company employs about 7 in the U.S., 33 in an Israel lab, and plans to expand its Philadelphia-area clinical development group. Medgenics's largest shareholder, Isaac Blech, is based in New York. Chairman Sol Barer is also the founder and past CEO of North Jersey-based cancer-fighting therapy maker Celgene (CELG).

The proceeds, which Medgenics expects to collect after Dec. 1, will be used to develop the company's TARGT gene therapy platform, including TARGTPRO for renal anemia and hematological conditions, TARGTGLP-2 for short-bowel syndrome, the firm's research and development collaboration with Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and other clinical as well as corporate purposes. Medgenics is run by CEO Michael Cola and chief scientific officer Dr. Garry Neil.

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Medgenics, Philly gene-therapy firm, raises $21M in share sale