Barcelona to host symposium 'MAB: How to effectively finance growth in biotechnology companies '
The Alternative Stock Market is for small cap companies looking to expand. There are currently 18 companies traded on this exchange, five of which are biotechnology or pharmaceutical firms.
By Biocat
DCM Asesores —a nominated independent adviser on the Alternative Stock Market (MAB)— and Metasbio are organizing a symposium on the MAB, on 29 February 2012, so that businesspeople from the biotechnology sector can delve deeper into this type of funding.
There are currently 18 companies traded on the MAB, five of which are from the biotechnology and pharmaceutical arena. The only Catalonia-based biotechnology firm is AB-Biotics, which went public in July 2010.
President of the MAB and deputy director of the Barcelona Stock Exchange, Antoni Giralt, will open the session with his talk: The MAB, an effective financing choice for expanding biotechnology companies: Funding opportunities, international visibility, liquidity and valuation. Afterwards, General Manager of DCM Asesores David Carro will explain how to effectively raise funds by trading on the MAB. Fermín Goytisolo, a partner at MetasBiotech, will reflect on the current state of the Spanish biotechnology sector, its degree of internationalization and forecast for growth. To finish up, Xavier Tous, CLO of AB-Biotics, will explain the experience of this biotechnology company, which chose the MAB in order to grow.
In 10 years, Spain has 94% more biotechnology companies
The relevance of the biotechnology sector does not go unnoticed in the Spanish business fabric. From 2000 to 2010, the number of biotech companies grew 94% (from 425 to 823 companies) and their turnover, 600%, according to the Genoma España report Relevance of biotechnology in Spain (2011). Income from biotechnology production has made up 0.43% of the average GDP in recent years.
Most Spanish companies in the sector still need to internationalize their activity beyond the national market.
As the 2011 Biocat Report (p. 106, Spanish Edition) explains, the MAB is attractive for the biotechnology sector as it brings liquidity to companies with growth and expansion projects. It must also be noted that there are similar markets, where biopharmaceutical firms are traded, that have been successful, such as the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) created in 1995, the Swiss SIX or the American alternative market.
Date: 29 February 2012
Time: 6:00 pm to 20:15 pm
Venue: Barcelona Stock Exchange • Passeig de Gràcia, 19 • Barcelona (Spain)
Free entry. Limited capacity. Please confirm attendance to: comunicacion@dcmasesores.es