Dive Brief:
- Acacia Pharma is raising money to fund the development of four medications, which are intended to treat postsurgical and post-chemotherapy nausea. The company is plotting a $232 million IPO in London to bolster drug development.
- Two of the four drugs are in mid-stage development, and Acacia intends to use proceeds from the IPO to bring those two drugs to market.
- Acacia was founded in Cambridge, England in 2007.
Dive Insight:
Acacia's CEO, Julian Gilbert, comes to this enterprise with a great deal of experience. Previously, he was the co-founder and commercial director of Arakis. Under the direction of Gilbert and his colleagues at Arakis, Arakis took several drugs, including drugs for chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), rheumatoid arthritis and cancer pain, and advanced them to the phase II/III stage before selling the company to Japan-based Sosei Co. for $187.4 million in July 2005.
Whether or not Acacia's goal is to develop these drugs with the intention of outlicensing some of them to a larger company is not clear. However, it seems likely that the drug candidates have been well-vetted and will advance through clinical trials.