Sources inform ''Globes'' that Procognia Ltd. is to float its local subsidiary Procognia (Israel) Ltd. on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE). Procognia UK actually consists of two companies - Sense Proteomic Ltd. which was acquired by Procognia in 2003, and Procognia Israel.
Procognia intends to float around one third of Procognia Israel, and will retain control of the rest. The value of the float is not known, although it is believed that given the development stage that the company has now reached and its financing rounds to date, it will be one of the larger offerings by a biopharmaceutical company on the TASE. According to IVC Online data, Procogia has raised $36 million to date (for its two subsidiaries together).
The flotation is part of a process of separating the two companies, following which each subsidiary will have a marketing apparatus of its own. Procognia CEO Ron Long will continue to serve as chairman of Procognia Israel.
Procognia Israel president and CSO Yeshayahu (Shaike) Yakir told “Globes”, “Each company has its own merits. They specialize in differing fields, so we decided that the best organizational structure would be one where each company manages directly all the laboratories which work for it.”
Procognia has developed a technology that will serve primarily as a control tool in drug development and production processes. The method works by profiling protein compounds during the course of drug production processes, and verifying that they are developing according to plan. Biochemical drugs are produced in life cells grown inside a fermentation container. Glycoprotein structures can be affected by changes in the size and shape of the container, as well as oxygen supply or cell array.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on December 10, 2006
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