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Ridgeback Capital Acquires New Stake in This High-Flying Biopharmaceutical Company

According to a Schedule 13G, Wayne Holman’s Ridgeback Capital Management LP acquired a new stake of 2.13 million shares of Celator Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:CPXX), which make up 5.2% of the company’s outstanding shares. The oncology-focused biopharmaceutical company that focuses on developing products to improve patient outcomes in cancer has seen its market value surge by a whopping 743% since the beginning of 2016, after reporting positive results from a Phase 3 study of VYXEOS in patients with high-risk acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in mid-March. The trial demonstrated a significant improvement in overall survival. To be more detailed on this disease, AML is a cancer of the bone marrow and blood, and accounts for 25% of all adult leukemias in the Western world. The American Cancer Society’s Cancer Facts & Figures estimates 19,950 new cases of AML in the U.S. during 2016. Meanwhile, the incidence is estimated to be 18,000 in Europe and 5,500 new cases in Japan.

At the end of March, Celator Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:CPXX) raised $40.6 million in capital through a public offering of 4.60 million shares of common stock, which include 600,000 greenshoe options, at a public offering price of $9.50 per share. The capital will be used to fund regulatory, manufacturing, commercial and clinical activities related to the aforementioned highly-promising drug candidate. Some analysts believe the company may represent a possible acquisition target, considering that VYXEOS’s faces no competition at this point in time and may serve as a worthy addition to some giant companies’ product portfolios. Hal Mintz’s Sabby Capital acquired a new stake of 337,462 shares of Celator Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:CPXX) during the December quarter.

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