Allakos, a US-based antibody developer that has received funding from pharmaceutical companies Roche and Novo, has raised approximately $128m in its initial public offering.
The company issued just over 7.1 million shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market priced at $18.00 each, above the IPO’s $15 to $17 range. Its shares debuted at $27.80 on Thursday and closed at $35.05 the following day.
Allakos is developing a monoclonal antibody called AK002 to combat eosinophil and mast cell related diseases, both of which affect the body’s white blood cells. It intends to put $94.5m of the IPO proceeds into developing the compound.
Novo Ventures, a corporate venturing vehicle for Novo, led the company’s $32m series A round in 2012, investing with Roche unit Roche Venture Fund and venture capital firms Alta Partners and RiverVest Venture Partners, before it pulled in $10m from the same investors in 2014.
The company raised $21.9m from investors including Roche subsidiary Roche Finance, Alta Partners and RiverVest Venture Partners in 2015 and early 2016 rounds, according to the IPO filing.
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) led Allakos’ $100m series B round in early 2017, which included Roche Venture Fund, Alta Partners, RiverVest, Redmile Group, Partner Fund Management, Rock Springs Capital, LifeSci Venture Partners, Samsara BioCapital and 3X5 Partners.
The stake in Allakos owned by Roche Finance was diluted from 13.8% to 11.3% in the offering while Novo’s stake was sized at less than 5%. Alta Partners remains its largest shareholder, with a 27.6% stake post-IPO.
RiverVest Venture Fund holds a 17.8% share post-offering and financial services frim Capital Research and Management Company 4.9%. NEA, which invested $4.5m in Allakos in a private placement concurrent to the IPO, owns a 5.6% share, down from 6%.
Goldman Sachs and Jefferies are joint book-running managers for the IPO while William Blair & Company is lead manager. The underwriters have a 30-day option to buy another 1.07 million shares, which would increase the size of the offering to almost $148m.