Could These Hot 2015 Biotech IPOs Be 2016 Buyout Targets?

Health and Healthcare

Published: December 28, 2015 9:50 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 3:40 pm

This was not a good year for the equity capital markets for initial public offerings (IPOs) and secondary offerings. In fact, issuance was way down from 2014, when such huge deals as Alibaba came public. But while issuance was down, there were some incredible deals that not only brought some great companies public, but also could have some bigger players thinking acquisition.

While some very high-profile companies like Ferrari and FitBit began trading publicly this year, neither one was among the top 10 performers. We screened the IPOs for 2015 and found the top 10 performers in terms of percentage gains. Then we looked for the companies that could have the most compelling price and technology that larger companies could be interested in.

Three biotech deals that were awesome performers may also be right in the sights of a larger biotech or pharmaceutical company looking to add the niche clinical edge that they bring to the table.

Collegium Pharmaceutical

This company was the second top performer this year and made its debut on May 7. Collegium Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ: COLL) was priced at $12 on the deal and closed last Thursday at $25.01, up a stunning 108.42%. The company also was added recently to the Nasdaq Biotechnology index. We noted last week that the company has filed for a secondary offering.

Collegium is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing a portfolio of products that incorporate its patent-protected DETERx technology platform for the treatment of chronic pain and other diseases. The DETERx oral drug delivery technology is designed to provide extended-release delivery, unique abuse-deterrent properties, and flexible dose administration options.