uniQure Announces $200 Million Proposed Public Offering

Rhea-AI Summary

uniQure (NASDAQ: QURE), a gene therapy company, has announced a proposed $200 million public offering of ordinary shares and pre-funded warrants. The company will grant underwriters a 30-day option to purchase additional shares up to 15% of the total offering.

The offering will be managed by Leerink Partners, Stifel, Van Lanschot Kempen, and Guggenheim Securities as bookrunning managers. The securities will be offered through uniQure's automatically effective shelf registration statement, with a preliminary prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus to be filed with the SEC.

Positive

• Potential to strengthen balance sheet with $200 million capital raise
• Automatically effective shelf registration statement already in place
• Support from multiple prominent investment banks as bookrunners

Negative

• Potential dilution for existing shareholders
• Offering size represents significant portion of market cap
• Stock price may face pressure due to increased share supply

Insights

Biotech Investment Analyst

uniQure's $200M offering signals capital raising for gene therapy development, likely diluting existing shares while strengthening financial position.

uniQure has initiated a $200 million public offering of ordinary shares and pre-funded warrants, signaling a significant capital raising effort for this gene therapy company. The structure of this financing includes both direct share issuance and pre-funded warrants, which effectively function as delayed equity. This dual approach suggests the company is strategically structuring the offering to appeal to different investor preferences.

The offering includes a standard 15% overallotment option for underwriters, potentially increasing the total capital raise to approximately $230 million if fully exercised. Four investment banks are managing the transaction: Leerink Partners, Stifel, Van Lanschot Kempen, and Guggenheim Securities, representing a strong syndicate that should provide broad distribution capability.

For existing shareholders, this offering will almost certainly result in dilution of ownership percentage, as new shares enter the market. The company hasn't specified how it plans to use the proceeds, which is somewhat unusual. Typically, biotechnology companies clearly outline intended uses such as advancing clinical trials, supporting regulatory submissions, or funding commercialization efforts.

The timing of this capital raise likely reflects management's assessment of current capital needs against their development timeline and cash runway. For gene therapy companies like uniQure, development costs are substantial given the complexity of manufacturing processes and clinical trials. This financing should strengthen their balance sheet and provide operational flexibility for their pipeline of transformative therapies targeting severe medical needs.

LEXINGTON, Mass. and AMSTERDAM, Sept. 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- uniQure N.V. (Nasdaq: QURE), a leading gene therapy company advancing transformative therapies for patients with severe medical needs, today announced that it has commenced a $200 million underwritten public offering of its ordinary shares and, in lieu of ordinary shares to certain investors, pre-funded warrants to purchase its ordinary shares. All securities to be sold in the offering will be offered by uniQure. In addition, uniQure intends to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to a number of additional ordinary shares equal to 15% of the total number of ordinary shares (and ordinary shares underlying pre-funded warrants) sold in the public offering, on the same terms and conditions. The offering is subject to market and other conditions, and there can be no assurance as to whether or when the offering may be completed, or as to the actual size or terms of the offering.

Leerink Partners, Stifel, Van Lanschot Kempen, and Guggenheim Securities are acting as bookrunning managers for the proposed offering.

The securities described above are being offered by uniQure pursuant to its automatically effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-284168) filed with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on January 7, 2025. A preliminary prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus relating to the offering will be filed with the SEC and will be available for free on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. When available, copies of the preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to the offering may be obtained from Leerink Partners LLC, Attention: Syndicate Department, 53 State Street, 40th Floor, Boston, Massachusetts 02109, by telephone at +1 (800) 808-7525, ext. 6105, or by email at syndicate@leerink.com; Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, Attention: Prospectus Department, One Montgomery Street, Suite 3700, San Francisco, California 94104, or by telephone at (415) 364-2720 or by email at syndprospectus@stifel.com; Van Lanschot Kempen (USA) Inc., 880 Third Avenue, 17th floor, New York, New York 10022, or by email at equitycapitalmarkets@vanlanschotkempen.com; or Guggenheim Securities, LLC, Attention: Equity Syndicate Department, 330 Madison Avenue, 8th Floor, New York, New York 10017, by telephone at (212) 518-9544, or by email at GSEquityProspectusDelivery@guggenheimpartners.com. The final terms of the proposed offering will be disclosed in a final prospectus supplement to be filed with the SEC.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction. Any offer, if at all, will be made only by means of the prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus forming a part of the effective registration statement.

About uniQure

uniQure is delivering on the promise of gene therapy – single treatments with potentially curative results. The approvals of uniQure’s gene therapy for hemophilia B – an historic achievement based on more than a decade of research and clinical development – represent a major milestone in the field of genomic medicine and ushers in a new treatment approach for patients living with hemophilia. uniQure is now advancing a pipeline of proprietary gene therapies for the treatment of patients with Huntington's disease, refractory temporal lobe epilepsy, ALS, Fabry disease, and other severe diseases.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, without limitation, statements regarding the completion, timing, and size of uniQure’s anticipated public offering, the grant to the underwriters of an option to purchase additional securities, and other statements identified by words such as "estimate," "plan," "project," "forecast," "intend," "will," "shall," "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "seek," "target," "continue," "could," "may," "might," "possible," "potential," "predict" and similar words or expressions.

Forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs and assumptions and on information available to management only as of the date of this press release. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including: the uncertainties related to market conditions and the completion of the public offering on the anticipated terms, or at all, continued interest in our rare disease portfolio, the ability to develop our product candidates and technologies, the impact of changes in the financial markets and global economic conditions, and other factors described under the heading "Risk Factors" in uniQure’s periodic securities filings with the SEC, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 27, 2025, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed on May 9, 2025 and July 29, 2025, the preliminary prospectus supplement once filed with the SEC and the accompanying prospectus, and other filings that uniQure makes with the SEC from time to time. Given these risks, uncertainties, and other factors, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, and, except as required by law, uniQure assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.

uniQure Contacts
For Investors:	For Media:
Chiara Russo	Tom Malone
Direct: 617-306-9137	Direct: 339-970-7758
Mobile: 617-306-9137	Mobile: 339-223-8541
c.russo@uniQure.com	t.malone@uniQure.com

FAQ

What is the size of uniQure's (QURE) proposed public offering in September 2025?

uniQure announced a $200 million public offering of ordinary shares and pre-funded warrants.

Who are the bookrunning managers for uniQure's 2025 public offering?

The offering is managed by Leerink Partners, Stifel, Van Lanschot Kempen, and Guggenheim Securities as bookrunning managers.

What is the additional option granted to underwriters in QURE's offering?

uniQure will grant underwriters a 30-day option to purchase additional shares up to 15% of the total offering.

How will uniQure's $200M offering be registered with the SEC?

The offering will be made through uniQure's automatically effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-284168) filed with the SEC.

What types of securities are included in uniQure's 2025 public offering?

The offering includes ordinary shares and pre-funded warrants to purchase ordinary shares (offered in lieu of ordinary shares to certain investors).