Bellus Health
Formerly Nasdaq: BLU / TSX: BLU.
Acquired by GSK, April 2023.
From clinical collapse to $2B exit, two mandates, one trusted partner
Client Snapshot
- Sector: Healthcare / Biotech
- Headquarters: Montreal, Quebec
- Two Engagements: September 2015 to September 2016, and April 2017 to June 2022
- Start (Sep 2015): Approximately $90M
- Pre-KIACTA readout peak: Approximately $200M
- Post-failure low: Approximately $15M
- Second engagement start (April 2017): Approximately $20M
- End of Bristol engagement (June 2022): Approximately $730M
- Liquidity: From limited liquidity to millions of dollars per day
- Ultimate outcome: US$2B acquisition by GSK (April 2023)
First Engagement (2015-2016): Building Momentum Behind KIACTA
Bristol Capital was first engaged by Bellus Health in September 2015, during the final stages of a confirmatory Phase 3 clinical trial for its rare kidney disease drug, KIACTA. At the time, Bellus had limited market visibility, a market cap of approximately $90M, and minimal research coverage.
Bristol created and executed a tailored investor relations strategy focused on:
- Hosting large-scale webinars to introduce the story
- Launching targeted roadshows in New York, Toronto, Montreal, Boston, San Francisco and other markets
- Facilitating dozens of one-on-one meetings with micro-cap generalists and specialist biotech investors
This work helped drive market cap up to approximately $200M at its peak before the clinical trial failed in late 2016. Following the disappointing outcome, Bellus' valuation declined sharply and the company initiated a strategic review.
Second Engagement (2017-2022): Rebuilding and Repositioning
In April 2017, with Bellus at a crossroads and its valuation decimated, the company retained Bristol Capital once again. It had just licensed a preclinical asset, BLU-5937, targeting refractory chronic cough, a large unmet indication.
The mandate was to rebuild the Bellus brand, reposition the story, and unlock capital markets interest.
At that time, two firms followed Bellus. Bloom Burton and Mackie Research, both out of Canada.
Strategy & Execution
Reinvigorating an old investor base and unlocking a new one
Bristol reintroduced Bellus to its 7,000+ investor network through a series of webinars and events, highlighting the chronic cough story and the pipeline. These drew hundreds of vetted professional investors, many of whom were unaware of the company's pivot or its potential.
Follow-up roadshows across the U.S. and Canada included hundreds of one-on-one meetings, carefully curated to drive traction and long-term support.
Bristol handled distribution of the company's news to its investor network throughout both engagements. For a pre-revenue biotech, quarterly financial results were rarely what moved a position. Clinical milestones were. Bristol distributed every release and concentrated follow-up meetings around the data events that genuinely changed the investment case, particularly the Phase 1 readouts in 2018 and the Phase 2 SOOTHE results in 2021.
Some Capital Markets Milestones
| Date | Milestone / Event | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Dec 18, 2018 | C$35M PIPE | Brokered by Bloom Burton and led by OrbiMed, who first met Bellus via a Bristol webinar. Other participants included New Leaf, First Manhattan, AppleTree, Amzak and Fonds FTQ. |
| Sep 9, 2019 | Uplisting to Nasdaq and US$70M raise | Led by RW Baird and supported by other U.S. investment banks introduced to Bellus by Bristol. Investors included many funds first engaged through Bristol's IR work. |
| Jul 13, 2022 | US$153M public offering | Led by Jefferies, Evercore, RBC and LifeSci. Investors included multiple funds first engaged through Bristol's marketing efforts. |
Clinical Milestones
Bristol supported Bellus across major clinical stages:
- Preclinical development of BLU-5937 (2017)
- Phase 1 readouts (2018) confirming the taste-sparing profile
- Phase 2 SOOTHE trial (2021) with positive efficacy data
The strategic IR program helped reframe expectations around BLU-5937, build belief in the new pipeline direction, educate generalist and healthcare-focused institutional investors, develop analyst research and investment banking relationships, and unlock the valuation necessary to fund and validate continued development.
Final Result: Acquisition by GSK
In April 2023, GSK acquired Bellus Health for US$2B, marking one of the most successful biotech exits in recent Canadian memory.
From a $15M near-cash shell in 2017 to a $730M business by mid-2022 and a $2B exit the following year, the turnaround was powered by effective IR execution and strategic capital markets access.
Summary Takeaways
- Bellus scaled from $90M to $200M (2015 to 2016) before a failed trial
- Rebuilt from $15M to $730M (2017 to 2022) with a new asset and an IR overhaul
- Uplisted to Nasdaq (2019)
- Raised approximately US$250M+ across several deals led by RW Baird, Jefferies, Evercore and others
- Grew from 2 covering research firms to 8+
- Acquired by GSK for US$2B (2023)
Bristol's second engagement concluded in June 2022 after exceeding all IR objectives. The company's internal team was fully equipped to manage further growth, and Bellus remains a strong reference client for Bristol Capital to this day.
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