Pharmaceutical firm Novartis is set to achieve an exit from Restorbio, a US-based aging-related disease therapy developer that has filed to raise up to $85m in an initial public offering.
Co-founded in 2016 by biopharmaceutical company PureTech Health, Restorbio is working on treatments for several aging-related conditions related to the decline in the body’s immune system which have no approved cure in the US, including respiratory tract infections (RTIs).
Development of the company’s lead product candidate, a small-molecule inhibitor of the TORC1 enzyme called RTB101, will be enhanced with the IPO proceeds. The drug is intended to stimulate a genetic pathway that regulates the aging process.
Novartis licensed the rights to Restorbio’s TORC1 program to the company in March 2017 and its Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research subsidiary retains a 9.4% stake in the company.
OrbiMed led an oversubscribed $40m series B round for the company in November 2017 that also featured Fidelity Management & Research Company, Nest Bio Rock, Quan Capital and Springs Capital. Restorbio had raised $25m from unnamed investors earlier in the year.
OrbiMed owns a 20% stake in the company, while 44.4% is held by PureTech Health. The underwriters for the offering are Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Leerink Partners, Evercore Group and Wedbush Securities.