BioPharmica to list

LOCAL biomedical company BioPharmica intends to list on the Australian Stock Exchange and will go to the market in the coming weeks, aiming to raise $4.5 million.

BioPharmica is owned by investment company Grandbridge Limited, which announced its intention to de-merge this week.

Grandbridge shareholders will receive a free 0.20-cent share in BioPharmica for every Grandbridge share they hold by the tentative date of May 26 2004.

Citing disclosure concerns, Grandbridge Limited chairman David Breeze would not comment on the number of shares to be offered through the IPO.

BioPharmica develops and commercialises products for the health sector including products that diagnose and treat a range of cancers.

It has partnered with the University of Western Australia and the Western Australian Medical Research Institute to develop products.

Patents are pending for its tumour response gene candidate, HLS5.

According to Grandbridge, once HLS5 is proved as a suppressor gene it has a billion-dollar market potential for detecting a variety of cancers.

BioPharmica is also commercialising products that diagnose the different bacteria that cause infectious diseases such as pneumonia and gastroenteritis.