Atreca, a US-based immunotherapy developer that counts pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) as an investor, has filed for a $100m initial public offering on the Nasdaq Global Market.
Founded in 2010, Atreca is working on immunotherapeutics intended to fight off solid tumours by using antibody-target pairs indicated by the immune systems of patients who respond successfully to tumours.
The proceeds from the offering will support the progress of Atreca’s lead drug candidate, a monoclonal antibody called ATRC-101 through the dose-escalation part of a phase 1b clinical trial while developing additional candidates using its drug discovery platform.
The IPO will follow a total of $226m of funding, $56m of which came in a 2015 series A round led by an undisclosed healthcare fund and backed by GSK, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and venture capital firm Mission Bay Capital.
Wellington Management Company co-led Atreca’s $35m series B round in 2017 with Baker Brothers Life Sciences, investing together with hedge fund sponsor Cormorant Asset Management and undisclosed new and existing backers.
The company added $125m in a September 2018 series C round led by Baker Brothers Life Sciences and backed by Wellington Management, Cormorant Asset Management, Boxer Capital, Aisling Capital, EcoR1 Capital, Redmile Group, Samsara BioCapital and funds managed by Tekla Capital Management.
Baker Brothers Life Sciences is the only investor that owns class B shares in Atreca, holding 23.6 million alongside 21.2 million class A shares equating to 22.8% of the total. Its other notable class A shareholders are Wellington Management (12.5%), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (9%) and Boxer Capital (6.9%).
The underwriters for the IPO are Cowen and Company, Evercore Group, Stifel Nicolaus, Canaccord Genuity and Brookline Capital Markets, which operates as part of Arcadia Securities.
