Rehovot-based D-Pharm on Monday completed a financial round, which yielded NIS 85 million to fund the biopharmaceutical company's late stage clinical stroke program.

"This is a unique offering because the current shareholders provided most of the financing," said Ruben Krupik, D-Pharm's Chairman of the Board. "We gave the public the opportunity to participate, while taking most of the risk upon ourselves."

The financial round combined a rights offering of NIS 57 million and an Initial Public Offering (IPO) of NIS 28 million. The IPO was oversubscribed and the unit price was set at 133 NIS, 13% higher than the minimum price. The company's pre-money valuation was NIS 120 million.

D-Pharm will commit most of the proceeds of the rights issue and the IPO towards the forthcoming pivotal Phase III clinical trial of DP-b99 in patients with acute ischemic stroke (study acronym - MACSI). An Investigational New Drug (IND) application for the Phase III clinical trial of DP-b99 was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in June 2009. The trial will enroll 770 patients with moderately severe ischemic stroke in more than 100 medical centers in North America, Europe, South Africa and Israel.

"Now we are set to move full steam ahead with the Phase III study of DP-b99m," said Dr. Alex Kozak, CEO of D-Pharm. "I am happy to see Israeli public sector investors supporting an advanced clinical stage company like D-Pharm. I hope that our IPO opens the door to the flotation of other companies, especially in the biotech industry".

The offering was underwritten by CLAL Finance Underwriting Ltd., as well as Rosario Underwriting Services (AS) Ltd. and Meitav Underwriting and Investment Ltd.