Bellerophon Therapeutics, a US-based clinical stage biotherapeutics company developing treatments for cardiopulmonary diseases, has filed for a $69m initial public offering on Nasdaq.
Bellerophon was spun out of biopharmaceutical company Ikaria in February 2014 as a special dividend to existing shareholders including industrial product conglomerate Linde, private equity firm New Mountain Capital and venture capital firms Arch Venture Partners and Venrock.
The company initially filed for the IPO confidentially in May 2014. Ikaria had itself planned an offering in 2010 but withdrew it the same year.
Bellerophon will use the proceeds to fund completion of a CE mark registration trial in the EU – comparable to a Phase 2 clinical trial in the US – for its bioabsorbable cardiac matrix (BCM) technology. BCM is intended to prevent heart failure following a heart attack.
The company also plans on funding a Phase 3 clinical trial of inopulse, a treatment for adult patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension. The disease leads to arteries in the lung becoming blocked, making it harder for blood to flow through and ultimately causing heart failure.
Linde currently holds a 16.1% stake in the company. New Mountain Capital holds 47.9%, and Arch Venture Partners and Venrock 9.5% each. Leerink Partners and Cowen & Company are serving as joint bookrunners.