Date Closed

March 23, 2020

Lead Office

Vancouver

Value

100.00 Million USD

On March 23, 2020, AbCellera Biologics Inc. (Abcellera) completed its Series A2 round of US$75 million in preferred equity financing and US$30 million in senior term debt. The debt financing was completed with OrbiMed Royalty & Credit Opportunities III, LP as lender. The funding will fuel AbCellera’s future development, growth and commercial activities including the company’s efforts to develop antibody products for the treatment and prevention of COVID-19. The Series A2 round of financing involved 15 investors from the United States and Malta involved in the biotechnology, biopharmaceutical and health industries. This financing is part of a growing trend of cross-border investment in British Columbia-based companies in the technology, biotechnology and health industries.

AbCellera is a Vancouver-based biotech firm that focuses on antibody discovery for therapeutics, and immune profiling for vaccine research. The company works in partnership with researchers from academia, non-profit organizations, and industry to enable and accelerate the development of new antibody therapies and new vaccines. In March 2020 the company partnered with global biopharmaceutical company Eli Lilly to produce antibody products for the treatment and prevention of COVID-19. The partnership resulted in the production of an antibody-based drug for COVID-19 patients called Bamlanivimab, which was authorized by U.S. and Canadian regulators in November 2020 for emergency use. Eli Lilly was one of the investors in the Series A2 round of financing.

McCarthy Tétrault advised AbCellera on its Series A2 round of financing with an equity team led by David Frost that included Erin O’Callaghan, Barbara Wang and Sandra Belton (Business) and a debt team led by Stephen Curran (Financial Services) that included Liezl Behm (Business), Kelleher Lynch (Pensions) and Kelsey Franks (Business). Both teams were supported by Kim Brown and Jeremy Ho (Tax) and Vincent Yip (IP). The equity financing required separate negotiations of the transaction documents and preferred share rights with each investor and its counsel, as no formal syndicate was developed for the deal.