US-based oncology therapy developer Forty Seven has filed for a $115m initial public offering on Nasdaq that would provide an exit to GV, the early-stage corporate venturing arm of diversified conglomerate Alphabet.
Spun out from Stanford University in 2015, Forty Seven is working on monoclonal antibodies, including its lead candidate, 5F9, which targets a protein called CD47. CD47 enables cancer cells to send signals telling the immune system not to attack.
The initial public offering follows the announcement of promising proof-of-concept data in an ongoing phase 1b/2 trial and a phase 1 pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic trial for 5F9.
The first trial is evaluating 5F9 in combination with rituximab in patients with relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, while the second trial is evaluating 5F9 in patients with advanced solid tumours. The spinout has treated more than 190 patients to date in the studies.
Proceeds from the offering will go towards the further clinical development of 5F9 and a second product candidate, FSI-189.
The remainder will go towards future, upfront licensing fees should the spinout pursue such deals, as well as research and drug discovery, working capital and general corporate purposes.
Forty Seven previously closed a $75m series B round in October 2017 that was led by Wellington Management and included GV as well as Clarus Ventures, Sutter Hill Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
The spinout raised $34.1m out of a $75m series A round in 2016, co-led by Lightspeed and Sutter Hill with participation from GV and Clarus Ventures. At the same time, Forty Seven licensed multiple immuno-oncology programs from Stanford University.
California Institute for Regenerative Medicine had previously provided $30m in funding to support preclinical development, according to Xconomy. The filing however only disclosed a $10.2m grant awarded by the institute.
Ludwig Cancer Research was previously reported as a shareholder, though there are no references to its investment in Forty Seven’s securities filing.
GV currently owns a 6.7% stake in the spinout. Lightspeed and Sutter Hill are the largest external shareholder with 16.8% each, followed by Clarus (15.8%) and Wellington (8.8%).
Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse Securities are acting as representatives of the underwriters, which also include Canaccord Genuity, BTIG and Oppenheimer.