By Adria Calatayud
Abivax shares added to recent gains after the French biotechnology company moved to bolster its balance sheet through an upsized stock offering, signaling investor appetite in the wake of positive clinical-trial data.
Paris-listed shares in Abivax were up 5% at 123.40 euros in European morning trading Thursday, which would be a new all-time high if sustained until market close, according to FactSet data. This gave the company a market value of roughly 10 billion euros ($11.26 billion) after a 46% rally this week.
The share gains followed Abivax saying it raised about $920 million through a share offering, after underwriters of the sale exercised an option to purchase additional American depositary shares.
With the new funding, Abivax moved to strengthen its finances, tapping into renewed investor interest after new data released this week eased concerns about the safety of its lead drug candidate. The company is developing the drug as a treatment for inflammatory bowel diseases ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.
It expects to use funds from the offering to cover expenses for the potential launch of its lead drug, obefazimod, in the U.S. The proceeds will also help to fund continued research and development of the product, it added.
Abivax previously said it plans to file for regulatory approval of the drug as a treatment for ulcerative colitis later this year.
Shortly after it released the new data aimed at reassuring investors, Abivax set out to raise $600 million earlier this week. It then expanded the offering to $800 million, saying this would extend its cash runway to the second quarter of 2029, and the amount increased to $920 million after the underwriters exercised their option to purchase additional shares.
The offering was priced at $125 an American depositary share on Wednesday, or a 2.4% premium to the stock's volume-weighted average price over the three prior days, the company said.
Write to Adria Calatayud at adria.calatayud@wsj.com