Protalix BioTherapeutics, Inc. (PLX) recently announced the pricing of a private placement of its convertible notes worth $60 million.
The convertible notes will mature on Sep 15, 2018 and carry an annual interest rate of 4.5% to be paid semi-annually. To cover over-allotments, the initial purchaser has been granted an option by the company of purchasing an additional $9 million worth of notes subject to the same terms and conditions. The initial purchaser will be provided a 30-day window to do so.
The notes carry an initial conversion rate of 173.6593 shares of common stock per $1,000 principal amount of Notes which is around $5.76 per share.
Protalix intends to use the funds from the offering for the development of its pipeline, enhancement of manufacturing capacity and general corporate purposes.
Protalix is dedicated to develop and commercialize proprietary, biobetter or biosimilar versions of recombinant therapeutic proteins using its proprietary ProCellEx protein expression system.
Protalix has one approved product, Elelyso/Uplyso, for the treatment of Gaucher disease in its portfolio. Protalix has a worldwide commercialization partnership (except Brazil and Israel) with Pfizer Inc. (PFE) for the product.
We note that Protalix has several candidates in its pipeline which include PRX-102 (phase I/II - Fabry disease) and PRX-112 (phase I - Gaucher disease).
Furthermore, the company revealed three new compounds, PRX-106 (immune mediated disorders), PRX-110 (cystic fibrosis), and PRX-107 (emphysema), in Jun 2013.
Protalix carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). Currently, companies which look attractive include Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) and Jazz Pharmaceuticals (JAZZ) with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), respectively.
