UK-based genetic medicine developer Orchard Therapeutics has filed to raise approximately $173m in an initial public offering that will allow corporates GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Medison and Sphera Global Health Care to exit.
Orchard is developing gene therapy treatments for serious and life-threatening rare diseases, focusing on neurometabolic disorders, immune deficiencies and hemoglobinopathies.
The IPO proceeds will support registrational trials for a range of drug candidates including five lentiviral product candidates currently in clinical development.
The company has raised more than $290m in equity funding, $150m coming in an August 2018 series C round featuring healthcare management services firm Sphera Global and Medison Ventures, the corporate venturing subsidiary of medical marketing company Medison.
Deerfield Management, RA Capital Management, Venrock, Foresite Capital, Perceptive Advisors, Cormorant Asset Management, ArrowMark Partners, Driehaus Capital Management, Ghost Tree Capital, Temasek, Baillie Gifford, RTW Investments, Cowen Healthcare Investments and Agent Capital also backed the August round.
F-Prime Capital and UCL Technology Fund had invested $30.7m in Orchard in 2016 and returned for a $110m series B in December 2017 featuring Baillie Gifford, ORI Capital, Temasek, Cowen Healthcare Investments, RTW Investments, Agent Capital, Juda Capital, Pavilion Capital and 4Bio Capital.
GSK acquired a 19.9% stake in Orchard as part of an April 2018 licensing agreement, and currently owns 17.9%. Orchard’s other notable shareholders are F-Prime (29.3%), Deerfield (6.7%) and Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust (5.6%).
JP Morgan Securities, Goldman Sachs, Cowen and Company and Wedbush Securities are the underwriters for the offering, which is set to take place on the Nasdaq Global Market.
