Check-Cap, an Israel-based medical diagnostics company backed by Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group and conglomerate General Electric, closed a $12m initial public offering on Tuesday, alongside a $12m private placement.
Both the IPO, which took place on Nasdaq, and the private placement consisted of 2 million shares priced at $6 each. Chardan Capital Markets and Maxim Group served as joint book-runners.
Check-Cap is developing a disposable, ingestible imaging capsule that uses low-dose X-rays to create a 3D image of a patient’s colon and screen for colorectal cancer. The device allows a patient to continue with their daily routine without the usual hospital visits and associated procedures.
The company secured an undisclosed sum from General Electric’s healthcare and venturing divisions, GE Healthcare and GE Capital, in 2012. It had already raised $9.8m from unnamed investors in 2011 and $12m in debt financing from investors including Fosun Pharma in October 2014.
Check-Cap will use the proceeds to support research and development, gain regulatory approval for its products and fund clinical trials in both the US and Europe, expand manufacturing facilities and repay approximately $1.1m in debt incurred under a credit agreement with Bank Leumi in January 2015.
Fosun Pharma retains a 9.8% stake post-IPO, while venture capital firm Pontifax will remain Check-Cap’s largest shareholder with a 20.4% stake.
Other major shareholders include BXR Group (9.8%), Docor International (6.1%), Biomedix Incubator (4.6%), Jacobs Investment Company (4%), New York Private Bank & Trust Corporation (4%) and Counterpoint Ventures (3.9%).