(AOF) – Pixium Vision has entered into a new agreement with the US-based investor specializing in healthcare, European Select Growth Opportunities Fund (LESGO), relating to financing through the issuance of bonds redeemable in cash and/or in new shares for a maximum nominal amount of 30 million euros, without interest, and without share subscription warrants, over a maximum period of 36 months.
This financial transaction extends the cash flow capacity of the company, which develops bionic vision systems, until the first quarter of 2023 after the issuance of the first tranche for a nominal amount of 5.5 million euros.
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An inevitable race for new blockbusters
The patent for Merck’s star product, the cancer drug Keytruda, which accounts for more than 35% of its sales, expires in 2028. Despite the loss, since 2019, of the patents for its three star products (Avastin, Herceptine, Rituxan) Roche was able to renew its portfolio by bringing new molecules to market. However, the discovery and launch of new drugs are increasingly expensive. AstraZeneca spends about $6 billion a year on R&D in a pharmaceutical industry where the life of a patent only lasts ten to fifteen years. This leads laboratories to withdraw from certain activities. Thus J&J, Pfizer, GSK and, no doubt, Novartis soon prefer to refocus on specialty drugs and abandon any ancillary activity.