U.S. biotech company Evofem eyes London listing -sources

LONDON, June 15 (Reuters) - Biotech company Evofem is working with U.S. bank JP Morgan and British broker Cenkos on a London stock market listing aimed at raising about $200 million, three sources familiar with the matter said on Monday.

San Diego-based Evofem, which specialises in women's healthcare and develops products such as non-hormonal contraception, is seeking funding to launch new drugs and the sources said an initial public offering (IPO) could come before the end of the year, adding that the timing and amount to be raised could change.

A spokeswoman for Evofem confirmed that a UK listing is one of various financing options the company is in the early stages of evaluating, adding that no firm decision has been made at this point and no financial advisers have been engaged.

JP Morgan declined to comment, while a spokesman for Cenkos was not immediately available for comment.

Evofem is backed by Neil Woodford, one of Britain's best-known fund managers, who originally invested in Evofem while at Invesco (NYSE: IVZ - news) . Since leaving Invesco in 2013 to set up Woodford Investment Management, he has also taken a stake in Evofem through his Equity Income Fund.

A spokesman for Woodford Investment Management declined to comment.

Woodford has invested in a range of small, early-stage pharmaceuticals companies, including Circassia, which listed last year in one of London's largest biotech IPOs for decades.

The previously hot biotech sector has cooled in the United States in recent months, with increased shorting by investors fearing a market bubble after a surge in the Nasdaq biotechnology index.

Worldwide healthcare activity in equity capital markets had risen 125 percent year on year to $54.9 billion at June 11, the fourth most active sector, Thomson Reuters data shows. (Reporting By Freya Berry; Editing by David Goodman)