VC-backed Crossject to list on NYSE Alternext

Ellie Pullen
04 February 2014

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French medical device company Crossject, backed by a consortium of local venture capital firms, is hoping to raise up to €12.9m in its IPO on the NYSE Alternext Paris.

The subscription period for the company's IPO began on 3 February and will run until 13 February. Crossject's first day of trading on Alternext is expected to take place on 20 February, with shares trading under the ticker symbol "ALCJ". CM-CIC Securities has been appointed as book-runner for the flotation.

The firm plans on pricing its shares at somewhere between €7.21-8.38 apiece. A total of approximately 1.5 million shares will be sold, meaning Crossject could raise anywhere from €11-12.9m at the indicative price range.

An extension clause comprising 230,700 additional shares and an over-allotment option of a further 265,300 shares have been granted.

Crossject is backed by Gemmes Venture, A Plus Finance, Sofimac Partners and Keensight Capital (formerly R Capital Management), as well as several other smaller investors.

According to Crossject, current shareholders have subscribed to the purchase of €1.2m of shares in the IPO. This includes Gemmes subscribing to €300,000 of shares – equivalent to 2.5% of the initial stock offering at the mid-point (€7.8) of the indicated price range; A Plus subscribing to €150,000 of shares (equivalent to 1.5% at the mid-point range) via its UFF Innovation 13, A Plus Rendement 11 and A Plus Transmission 12 funds; and Sofimac subscribing to €150,000 of shares via its Sofimac Croissance 2 fund.

According to Crossject, Gemmes is the company's biggest shareholder with a 34.7% stake. A Plus holds a shareholding of 17%, Sofimac 6.37% and Keensight 3.8%.

Crossject first received funding in May 2001, securing €2m from Gemmes over two rounds, according to unquote" data. A further €9m was then provided by Gemmes and Keensight in August 2006, followed by a €4.6m round in July last year from A Plus, Gemmes and Sofimac.

The company's technology, Zemeo, is being used by Crossject to develop needle-free, pre-filled injection devices designed for fixed-dosage single use. Crossject's devices allow for drugs to be delivered intradermally, subcutaneously or intramuscularly via injection.

Crossject is using its Zemeo technology to create a pipeline of Supergenics products, which combine the company's needle-free injection devices with drugs to treat a variety of diseases. According to the company's website, Crossject is currently in the clinical stages of using the drug methotrexate with Zemeo to treat rheumatoid arthritis and the drug epinephrin to treat anaphylactic shock. It is also in the pre-clinical stage of using sumatriptan to treat acute migraine.

The Dijon-headquartered business was founded in 2001 and generated turnover of €354,000 in 2012. Its CEO is Patrick Alexandre.

Gemmes CEO Philippe Monnot sits on Crossject's board of directors as chairman, alongside A Plus associate director Jean Michel Pimont and Sofimac investment director François Miceli.