OncoMethylome IPO raises 25m

OncoMethylome Sciences, a venture-backed Belgian life sciences business, has completed a dual listing on the Euronext Brussels and Amsterdam Stock Exchanges.

The molecular diagnostics company issued 3,373,334 shares on its IPO at a price of €7.50 per share, raising €25.3m, giving it a market capitalisation of approximately €75.5m.

OncoMethylome is backed by ING Belgium (which held a 28.4% stake prior to float), Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners (12.4%), Life Sciences Partners (14.8%), PolyTechnos Venture-Partners (14.2%), and three Belgian early stage VCs: Meusinvest, SIBL and Technowal. None of the VCs sold any shares in the IPO, although the company did.

The company was founded in 2003 and completed its first round of fund raising in July of the same year with commitments from all the above firms apart from Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners, which led the second and final funding round in November 2005, which raised €15m.

OncoMethylome specialises in the research, design, and validation of molecular gene methylation tests for early cancer detection and personalised treatment decisions. The OncoMethylome Sciences laboratory and headquarters are in Liège, Belgium and its US offices are in Durham, NC, near Research Triangle Park.