Physiomics Shares Dive on Discounted Share Placing

   By Ian Walker 
 

LONDON--Shares of Physiomics PLC (PYC.LN) fell 25% in early trade Thursday after the company announced a heavily discounted share placing to raise 270,000 pounds ($407,249).

The Oxford, U.K.-based company, which combines systems biology with mathematics to develop models that streamline the drug discovery and development process, has placed 449.9 million new ordinary shares at 0.06 pence per share, a 25% discount to its closing share price on Wednesday.

Shares at 0950 GMT were trading 19% lower at 0.07 pence. Earlier in the session they had fallen as low as 0.06 pence. Shares are currently down 55% over the past 12 months.

Physiomics said it will use the money for working capital purposes.

It has recently signed its first contract to develop its lead service, virtual tumor, with Merck Serono, the biopharmaceutical division of Merck (MRK.XE). Virtual tumor is used to optimize the dosing and scheduling of oncology drugs in pre-clinical trials.

Under the contract with Merck, which lasts for 14 months, scientists of both companies will work together to develop and calibrate a model that can predict optimal combination partners for both marketed and pipeline drugs.

At the time of the announcement, on March 3, Physiomics said it expects to generate revenue from the contract in fiscal years 2015 and 2016 which end June 30. Revenue is expected to match all of Physiomics sales in fiscal 2014 of GBP267,903, it said.

At June 30, 2014 the company had cash and cash equivalents of GBP132,358.

-Write to Ian Walker at [e-mail]; @IanWalk40289749

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