Akebia Therapeutics, a US-based biopharmaceutical company backed by the corporate venturing units of European healthcare companies Novo and Novartis, has closed its initial public offering after raising $106.9m
The company priced its shares at $17.00 per share, at the upper tip of the range, and went public late last week. Akebia increased the number of shares issued, from the 4.9 million it planned to issue when it was setting the range to 5.88 million, raising $100m in the process.
Underwriters Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, UBS Investment Bank and Nomura took up an option to buy a further $6.9m of stock after Akebia opened at $22.00 on Nasdaq and closed at $26.69 after its first day of trading, though it had fallen to $18.96 at time of publication.
Founded in 2007, Akebia develops therapeutics for patients suffering from kidney disease. It plans to use $60m of the proceeds from the IPO to advance clinical development of its lead product candidate, AKB-6548, while a further $5m will be invested in a preclinical candidate, AKB-6899, for oncology solutions.
Novartis Bioventures remains Akebia’s largest individual shareholder. Before the underwriters acquired the extra shares its stake had been cut from 23.9% to 16.6% through the offering, while Novo Ventures held a 7.2% stake, down from 9.9% pre-IPO.
Prior to the offering, Akebia had raised approximately $83m across three venture rounds. Novartis invested as far back as the company’s $16m series A round in September 2009, while Novo came on board by leading its $41m series C round in 2012. Novo Ventures also recently led a $55m series D round raised by ZS Pharma, a developer of treatments for kidney, cardiovascular, and liver disorders.