Cooley Advises on Series of Life Sciences IPOs

Palo Alto – May 30, 2017 – Cooley recently advised on several life sciences company initial public offerings, including offerings for Zymeworks, Verona Pharma, UroGen Pharma and Biohaven Pharmaceutical. These transactions follow on the heels of Cooley’s involvement in two additional life sciences IPOs in April – Valeritas Holdings’ $52.5 million IPO and Tocagen’s $97.8 million IPO.

“We’re proud to have advised on these successful initial public offerings involving innovative companies seeking to tackle significant unmet medical needs and impact lives,” said Charlie Kim, co-chair of Cooley's global capital markets practice group.

Cooley advised the underwriters on Zymeworks’ $58.5 million initial public offering of 4,500,000 common shares. Citigroup, Barclays and Wells Fargo Securities acted as joint book-running managers for the offering; Canaccord Genuity acted as lead manager; and Cormark Securities acted as co-manager. The underwriters have a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 675,000 shares. Zymeworks, which now trades on The New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange as “ZYME,” is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialization of next-generation multifunctional biotherapeutics, initially focused on the treatment of cancer. The Cooley team was led by Charlie Kim, Dave Peinsipp and Drew Williamson.

Cooley also advised the underwriters on Verona’s $80.0 million initial public offering of 47,399,001 ordinary shares, including 5,768,000 American Depositary Shares. Jefferies and Stifel acted as joint book-running managers for the offering; Wedbush PacGrow and SunTrust Robinson Humphrey acted as co-managers. The underwriters have a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 865,200 ADSs. Verona, which now trades on The NASDAQ Global Market as “VRNA,” is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing innovative therapeutics for the treatment of respiratory diseases with significant unmet medical needs. The ordinary shares trade on AIM, a market of the London Stock Exchange as “VRP.” The Cooley team was led by Div Gupta, Brent Siler and Charlie Kim.

Cooley also advised UroGen on its $66.9 million initial public offering of 5,144,378 ordinary shares, including the full exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares. UroGen, which now trades on The NASDAQ Global Market as “URGN,” is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing advanced non-surgical treatments to address unmet needs in the field of urology, with a focus on uro-oncology. The Cooley team was led by Div Gupta, Daniel Goldberg and Josh Kaufman.

Cooley also advised Biohaven on its $193.5 million initial public offering of 11,385,000 common shares, including the full exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares. Biohaven, which now trades on the New York Stock Exchange as “BHVN,” is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with a portfolio of innovative, late-stage product candidates targeting neurological diseases, including rare disorders. The Cooley team was led by Darren DeStefano, Brian Leaf and Div Gupta.

“In addition to the recent IPOs, Cooley has advised on 29 successfully completed life sciences follow-on offerings thus far in 2017,” added Dave Peinsipp, co-chair of Cooley’s global capital markets group. “These transactions underscore Cooley’s commitment to and leadership in this dynamic space.”

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