Relay Therapeutics, a US-based cancer drug developer backed by internet group SoftBank and internet technology conglomerate Alphabet, went public yesterday in a $400m initial public offering.
The company increased the number of shares in the offering from 14.7 million to 20 million and priced the shares at $20.00 each, above the IPO’s $16 to $18 range. Its shares closed at $35.05 on their first day of trading on the Nasdaq Global Market yesterday, valuing it above $3bn.
Founded in 2016, Relay is using insights into protein motion to develop small molecule drugs intended to treat cancer by targeting proteins that were previously thought of as undruggable.
Up to $155m of the IPO proceeds will go to a phase 1 clinical trial for one of its lead product candidates, RLY-4008, in small tumours as well as part of the phase 2/3 trials for the drug.
A further $100m to $120m will fund the rest of ongoing phase 1 and phase 1b trials for a second candidate, RLY-1971, in addition to phase 2/3 trials, in advanced solid tumours.
Relay will put up to $85m into choosing a lead candidate from an ongoing program known as RLY-PI3K104, which will target mutant variants of the phosphoinostide 3-kinase alpha enzyme, and $115 to $135m into development of its general drug discovery work.
SoftBank’s Vision Fund led the company’s $300m series C round in late 2018 to take its total funding to $520m. Alphabet subsidiary GV also took part in that round, as did Alexandria Venture Investments, the venture capital arm of life sciences real estate investment trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities.
The series C round was filled out by BVF Partners, EcoR1 Capital, Foresite Capital, DE Shaw, Casdin Capital, Perceptive Advisors and Tavistock Group.
BVF Partners had led Relay’s $63m series B round the year before, investing alongside GV, Alexandria Venture Investments, Casdin Capital, EcoR1 Capital, Third Rock Ventures and Section 32. It followed $57m from Third Rock and DE Shaw in 2016.
Vision Fund remains the company’s largest investor, with a 41.7% stake diluted to 32.1% in the offering. Third Rock Ventures is the only other shareholder with a stake above 5%, its 20% share being cut to 15.4%.
Joint book-running managers JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Cowen and Guggenheim Securities have a 30-day option to buy up to 3 million more shares at the IPO price, which would increase the size of the offering to $460m.
