Sana Biotechnology, a US-based stem cell medicine developer backed by internet and technology conglomerate Alphabet, has filed for a $150m initial public offering on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.
The company had confidentially filed for the offering in November 2020, and Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and BofA Securities have been hired as underwriters.
Founded in 2018, Sana Bio is working on hypoimmune stem cells based on Harvard University research that are intended to hide from the patient’s immune system, facilitating cell therapies that do not trigger an immune system response.
The company announced in June 2020 it had raised over $700m in funding from investors including Alphabet subsidiary GV, but the IPO filing shows a more detailed breakdown of its funding.
Sana Bio secured $45.9m in series A-1 funding in October 2018 that included the conversion of $1.1m in convertible note financing from Arch Venture Partners and F-Prime Capital, a branch of financial services and investment group Fidelity, the previous month.
The 2018 capital was followed by just over $216m in series A-2 funding in February 2019, before Sana Bio added $7.9m in October 2019, from investors including F-Prime, Arch Venture Partners, Flagship Pioneering and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP).
F-Prime, Arch Venture Partners and CPP were among the investors that added $435m in series B financing in June 2020. The round also featured Baillie Gifford, Alaska Permanent Fund, Public Sector Pension Investment Board, Bezos Expeditions, Omega Funds and Altitude Life Science Ventures.
Sana Bio has also revealed Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Investment Authority as a shareholder. Its acquisitions include the $8.5m purchase of brain disease drug developer Oscine Therapeutics in September 2020.
Proceeds from the IPO will fund the development of the company’s in-vivo and ex-vivo cell engineering platforms, as well as preclinical trials for all candidates for each platform. The money will also support manufacturing capabilities and research and development activities.
Arch Venture Partners is Sana Bio’s largest shareholder, with a 27.5% stake, followed by Flagship Pioneering (21.4%), CPP (5.8%) and F-Prime (5.1%).
The original version of this article appeared on our sister site, Global University Venturing.