Allena Pharmaceuticals, a US-based developer of treatments for metabolic and kidney disorders, has filed to raise up to $92m in an initial public offering that will allow pharmaceutical company Pharmstandard to exit.
Allena is working on oral enzyme drugs that will combat rare and severe kidney and metabolic disorders, particularly those where metabolite damage the kidney, leading to kidney stones, and potentially chronic kidney disease (CKD) or renal disease.
The company plans to use the IPO proceeds to fund phase 2 and 3 clinical trials for its lead product candidate, ALLN-177, which is being developed to treat hyperoxaluria, a condition where the kidneys excrete too much of a salt called calcium oxalate, which can cause kidney stones.
Additional cash will support development of a second candidate, ALLN-346, which will address CKD and hyperuricemia, a condition where there is too much uric acid in a patient’s blood.
The offering comes after $93m in funding for Allena, which most recently closed a $53m series C round in late 2015 backed by Pharmstandard, which invested $5.2m, Partner Fund Management, Fidelity Management and Research, Wellington Management, Frazier Healthcare and HBM BioCapital.
Third Rock Ventures and Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP) invested $15m in Allena in 2011 before returning for a $25m series B three years later that included Pharmstandard, HBM and Frazier Healthcare.
Pharmstandard owns a 5.4% share of Allena, the other notable shareholders being Frazier (18.5%), Third Rock (16.8%), BVP (14.6%), Fidelity (11.8%), HBM (10.2%) and Partner Fund Management (8.9%).
Credit Suisse Securities (USA), Jefferies, Cowen and Company and Wedbush Securities have been appointed underwriters for the offering, which is set to take place on the Nasdaq Global Market.