AbibaxThe company’s latest round of funding will allow the biotech company to move toward launching its intestinal disease treatment in the U.S. without support from Big Pharma, CEO Marc de Garridel told CNBC after months of intense acquisition speculation.
“Thanks to the funding we have raised…we are in a position to secure cash until the end of 2029 and…build the appropriate infrastructure to launch in the U.S.,” de Garridel told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Friday.
The French clinical-stage biotech company, valued at about 11 billion euros ($12.2 billion), raised $920 million last week after its underwriters fully exercised their option to buy additional U.S. depositary shares.
The proceeds will be used to fund operations until 2029, including the commercialization of obefazimod, its main drug and only asset in the United States, and further clinical research and development costs for the drug.
“The best defense for us is actually the offense,” de Garridel said on Friday, in response to a question about whether Avivax would consider a takeover offer at this stage.
It comes after a volatile month for the company, in which a late-stage clinical trial of obefazimod in patients with ulcerative colitis surprised investors with reports of cancer cases in the study cohort, led analysts to question the company’s commercial viability, and sent its stock price tumbling.
The data set from Part 2 of the same trial showed that the incidence of malignancies was consistent with the normal incidence expected for the patient population, and the stock price was on track to recover its losses.
Avivax shares over the past 12 months.
De Garridel on Friday emphasized the drug’s “unparalleled effectiveness in hard-to-treat populations” and reiterated the company’s position that it is safe.
“Unfortunately, ulcerative colitis weakens your immune system and makes you more susceptible to certain types of cancer,” he says.
Avivax plans to meet with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration at the end of July to discuss obefazimod’s new drug application, a so-called pre-NDA meeting, he added.
acquisition speculation
Avivax has been under intense scrutiny from investors as a prime acquisition target since reporting strong efficacy for obefazimod over an eight-week period in July 2025. The next “maintenance” study evaluated the effects of the drug over 44 weeks.
But the company’s Paris-listed shares have soared more than 1,600% in the past 12 months, potentially complicating price negotiations with potential buyers.
De Garridel told CNBC in March that he believed receiving maintenance data would help him win more favorable contracts.
Analysts modeled that the acquisition price could be up to $23 billion, and said Avivax could be a strategic acquisition for a large pharmaceutical company with franchises in immunology and inflammation.
