Aligos Therapeutics, the US-based small molecule drug developer backed by corporates Roche and Novo, has set the terms for an initial public offering that would raise $160m at the top of its range.
The offering is set to consist of 10 million shares issued on the Nasdaq Global Market and priced between $14 and $16 each.
Founded in 2018, Aligos is developing small molecule therapeutics to treat chronic hepatitis B, the liver disease non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and the coronavirus responsible for covid-19.
The company plans to combine the IPO proceeds and cash on hand, and will put up to $40m into a phase 1 clinical trial and drug manufacturing activities for ALG-010133, a drug candidate being developed as a treatment for hepatitis B.
Between $35m and $38m will be used for a phase 1 trial for a second candidate, ALG-000184, while up to $15m will fund the progress of ALG-020572 and up to $25m will go to ALG-125097, all of which are targeting hepatitis B. Another $12m to $14m will support a candidate targeting NASH.
Aligos raised $5m in seed financing in June 2018 and $101m in a series A round three months later that included pharmaceutical firms Novo and Roche, the latter investing through its Roche Finance subsidiary, as well as Vivo Capital and Baker Brothers, according to the IPO filing.
The series A investors joined Pivotal BioVenture Partners, the firm backed by property developer Nan Fung, as well as Wellington Management, Versant Ventures, Janus Henderson Investors, Boxer Capital, Cormorant Asset Management and Logos Capital in a series B round that closed at $125m this month.
Roche Finance, Baker Brothers and Versant Ventures each hold an 11.5% stake set to be diluted to 8.4% in the offering. Vivo Capital is set to come out with an 8.1% share, Novo 6.6% and Wellington Management 5.2%.
JP Morgan Securities, Jefferies, Piper Sandler and Cantor Fitzgerald are the underwriters for the offering and are set to have the 30 day option to buy another 1.5 million shares following the flotation, which could potentially lift it to $184m.
