US company BioTime, Inc. (NYSE MKT: BTX) is to dual list on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. The biotechnology company, which focuses on the development and commercialization of cell-based therapies, has a market cap of $268 million.
From Tuesday, September 8, the company will be traded in Tel Aviv under the ticker symbol BTX. On the basis of its current market cap, BioTime’s shares are expected to be included in five TASE equity indexes: TASE's TA-75, TA-100, TA-BlueTech, TA-Tech-Elite and TA-Biomed.
“We believe that the dual listing on the TASE will help us to open a new access point for our shares in the Israeli market that is becoming a center for biomed and emerging technology companies,” said BioTime CEO Michael West, “The new listing also offers an opportunity to expand and diversify our shareholder base by increasing our exposure and improving our accessibility to Israeli investors.”
TASE CEO Yossi Beinart said, “We welcome BioTime to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange Dual Listing, and believe that this is a recognition of the biomed sector’s special position at the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. BioTime joins a group of 46 cross-listed companies entitling them to significant benefits including, added exposure among Israeli investors, extension of the trading day, investment by Exchange Traded Product vendors, and easy access to institutional and retail investors as well as to global growth companies.”
BioTime has two Israeli subsidiaries Cell Cure Neurosciences Ltd. of Jerusalem and LifeMap Sciences Ltd. of Tel Aviv which its says has benefited from a rewarding relationship with the Weizmann Institute of Science.
In conjunction with the Hadassah Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Center at Hadassah University Medical Center, Cell Cure is currently conducting a Phase I/IIa clinical trial of its lead product OpRegen, the first cell therapy product derived from human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) ever to undergo clinical testing in Israel. Utilizing retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells derived from ESCs, the OpRegen trial is targeting the dry form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). AMD is the number one cause of blindness in the elderly in the developed world. The clinical trial is being funded in part by a grant from the Office of the Chief Scientist.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 6, 2015
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