Belgian biotech Galapagos ($GLPG) came through with a $275 million IPO on the strength of its pipeline of immunology treatments, stirring hopes among a new crop of companies that the industry's Wall Street window will remain open through the year.
The company priced about 6.6 million shares on the Nasdaq exchange at $42.05 each, setting aside nearly 1 million more shares for its underwriters and setting its maximum deal value at more than $315 million. With the proceeds, Galapagos plans to keep the pace on its lead drug, an oral arthritis treatment on its way to Phase III. And, through collaborations with Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ) and AbbVie ($ABBV), Galapagos' pipeline also includes treatments for inflammatory bowel disease, cystic fibrosis and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Meanwhile, the steady stampede of biotechs to Wall Street continues with three more would-be debutantes filing to go public this week.
Catabasis Pharmaceuticals, at work on a treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, is looking to raise $75 million in an IPO to get a stable of candidates through clinical trials. The biotech's lead asset, CAT-1004, is a DMD treatment on verge of Phase II development, and the company is pushing through Phase I with a drug for high cholesterol.
And Biotie Therapies, a Finnish outfit, is seeking $60 million for its pipeline of CNS treatments, led by a Phase III-ready drug for Parkinson's disease. With the funds, Biotie plans to get the PD-treating tozadenant into late-stage trials by the middle of this year and bankroll the development of an oral drug dubbed SYN120 in dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
Boulder, CO's Nivalis Therapeutics is out to reap $60 million to advance a novel treatment for cystic fibrosis, advancing a small-molecule therapy the company believes can address the root genetic problem at the heart of the disease. The drug, N91115, is designed to be used alongside Vertex Pharmaceuticals' ($VRTX) in-development CF combo Orkambi, stabilizing patients' CFTR genes to improve outcomes for patients. The drug is currently in Phase I development, and Nivalis plans to use its potential IPO haul to get N91115 into a Phase II combination study.
- check out Galapagos' statement (PDF)
- here's the Catabasis S-1
- read Biotie's filing
- and Nivalis' pitch