Alvotech has announced that its ordinary shares and warrants will begin trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC on Thursday, June 16, under the new ticker symbols “ALVO” and “ALVOW”, respectively.

This follows the completion of the company’s business combination with Oaktree Acquisition Corp. II (“OACB”), a special purpose acquisition company sponsored by an affiliate of Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. (“Oaktree”).  The merger, which was approved on June 7 by OACB shareholders, creates a publicly traded, pureplay company focused on the growing global biosimilar market, the company states.

Expected to be the largest debut on a US exchange by an Icelandic company

The public listing is expected to be the largest debut on a U.S. exchange by an Icelandic company. Ordinary shares of the company are also expected to trade on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market in Iceland commencing on June 23, 2022.

Alvotech is expected to be the first dual-listed Icelandic company on both a U.S. and Icelandic stock exchange.

“Becoming a public company is a historic milestone on Alvotech’s growth journey.”

“Becoming a public company is a historic milestone on Alvotech’s growth journey. We expect that becoming a listed company will allow us to continue strengthening our position in the biosimilar space while delivering value to our partners and patients across the globe,” says Róbert Wessman, Founder and Executive Chairman of Alvotech.

An estimated total addressable market of over 85 billion USD

Since its inception a decade ago, Alvotech has built a platform for developing and manufacturing biosimilars at scale.

Alvotech’s current portfolio of eight products and product candidates targets multiple therapeutic areas and represents an estimated total addressable market of over 85 billion USD based on estimated peak sales of the reference products, states the company in its press release.

Alvotech’s lead product, AVT02 (adalimumab), a biosimilar to Humira, has launched in Canada and Europe and is expected to launch in the U.S. on July 1, 2023.

For the U.S. market, Alvotech is pursuing an interchangeability designation for AVT02 (adalimumab) and has previously announced FDA acceptance of Alvotech’s BLA supporting interchangeability for the company’s high-concentration, citrate-free biosimilar candidate.  More recently, the company has announced positive results for AVT04 (ustekinumab), Alvotech’s proposed biosimilar to Stelara, for both the confirmatory clinical, safety and efficacy study and a pharmacokinetic (PK) study.

Strategic commercialization partnerships

In order to give its products global reach with local expertise, Alvotech has formed strategic commercialization partnerships with leading pharmaceutical companies spanning global markets.  These include partnerships with Teva Pharmaceuticals, a US affiliate of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE and TASE: TEVA) for the US market; STADA Arzneimittel AG for EU and select other territories; and Fuji Pharma Co., Ltd (TSE: 4554) for Japan, among others.

The transaction is supported by a PIPE totaling approximately 175 million USD, raised entirely as ordinary shares, at 10.00 USD per share. The PIPE was backed by investors such as Suvretta Capital, Athos (the Strüngmann Family Office), CVC Capital Partners, Temasek Holdings, YAS Holdings, Farallon Capital Management, and Sculptor Capital Management, among others.

Photo: iStock