News and Events > CU Start-Up Myogen's Initial Public Offering Raises $70MM

CU Start-Up Myogen's Initial Public Offering Raises $70MM

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In an October 2003 IPO Myogen raised $70M, selling 5 million shares at $14/share. A Colorado-based CU start-up, Myogen (MYOG) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of cardiovascular disorders. Myogen currently markets one product in Europe and has three product candidates in late-stage clinical development. The Company also conducts a target and drug discovery research program focused on the development of disease-modifying drugs for the treatment of chronic heart failure and related cardiovascular disorders.

Also in October 2003, Myogen entered into a $5M research collaboration with the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Inc. (Novartis) for the discovery and development of novel drugs for the treatment of cardiovascular disease. Myogen stands to earn as much as $17M in license fees and milestones for each successful collaborative project reaching the market. Myogen also maintains research partnerships with Aventis and Abbot. The company has worldwide exclusive rights to certain patents and patent applications licensed from the University of Colorado. In addition to paying license fees and product royalties to CU, license compensation includes an equity share for the University, held by its affiliate University License Equity Holdings, Inc.

Founded in 1996, Myogen's employee count (52) and operational spending have nearly quadrupled since fiscal year 2000. Myogen's academic founders, Dr. Michael Bristow (Health Sciences Center) and Dr. Leslie Leinwand (Chair of CU-Boulder's MCDB Department), in continuing Myogen-sponsored collaborations are making significant contributions to defining the molecular bases of cardiovascular disease and improving its treatment. Dr. Bristow is Myogen's Chief Science and Medical Officer. CEO William Freytag, Ph.D. has been in management positions as DuPont, Boerhringer Mannheim, and Somatogen prior to joining the Westminster-based company.

The costs in the US of cardiovascular related death and disability, where 62 million people are affected, are estimated at $300 billion this year, including $36 billion in drug costs and $105 billion in hospitalization and nursing home costs.