In Europe, when biotechnology companies talk about a pipe, it is usually attached to the word line and refers to the number of potential treatments they are developing. In the US the word conjures up one of the most common forms of fund-raising for listed biotechnology groups.
Pipes, or private investment in public equity, have existed in the US since the 1990s and involve a public company offering unregistered stock to private investors at a negotiated discount. This compensates investors for the fact that the shares are not tradeable until they are formally registered, normally within 90 to 120 days of the offer completing.
