US-based bioelectronic medicine developer Electrocore filed for a $74.8m initial public offering on Monday that will allow pharmaceutical firm Merck & Co and medical device maker ENGC to exit.
Electrocore has developed a nerve-stimulation device, GammaCore, that has received regulatory approval as a treatment for pain caused by migraines and episodic cluster headaches.
The IPO proceeds will go to recruitment, as Electrocore looks to hire business managers and expand marketing for GammaCore in the US, as well as on research and development.
The company also plans to develop distribution channels for the next iteration of the system, GammaCore Sapphire, which is expected to be released in the third quarter of 2018.
Electrocore has raised just over $120m in funding, including $50m in a 2014 series A round featuring Merck’s Global Healthcare Innovation (GHI) Fund, Easton Capital and Core Ventures.
Merck GHI invested $5m in the company’s $70m series B round, which closed in November 2017. It was led by Core Ventures and backed by ENGC, Knoll Capital, American Investment Holdings and Viniky Family Foundation.
Merck GHI and Core Ventures are the only Electrocore investors with stakes above 5%, according to the filing, though it did not reveal their precise size.
Piper Jaffray, Evercore Group and JMP Securities are the underwriters for the offering, which is set to take place on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.
– Photo courtesy of Electrocore, LLC.