Alzheon, a US-based developer of treatments for neurodegenerative conditions backed by pharmaceutical firm Aptus Therapeutics, on Monday filed a second attempt at an initial public offering the Nasdaq Global Market.
The company is aiming for approximately $40.3m in proceeds, having previously targeted up to $86m when it priced shares in April this year before withdrawing plans for a flotation a month later.
Founded in 2013, Alzheon is working on small molecules that target neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease by inhibiting protein misfolding, an abnormal process in which a protein fails to fold into its normal configuration, becoming toxic or inactive.
Alzheon will use the proceeds to advance the clinical development of its lead candidate, ALZ-801, a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease that is slated to enter a phase 2b trial in the first half of 2019. The remainder, if any, will go towards new and ongoing R&D activities.
Alzheon raised $10m in a series A round backed by investors including investment group Ally Bridge and $1.1m in convertible note financing in 2015, before adding $18.1m in series B and convertible debt financing in 2017 backed by Aptus, Ally Bridge and unnamed investors.
Ally Bridge is currently the only shareholder with a stake of more than 5%, through a vehicle called ABG II-Alzheon, but the precise size of its stake has not been revealed.
Aptus, which held a 5.2% stake as of April this year, is no longer listed as a principal stockholder, though it is not clear when or how many of its shares the corporate may have sold.
ThinkEquity is the underwriter for the proposed offering, replacing previous underwriters Citigroup Global Markets, Piper Jaffray, Canaccord Genuity and JMP Securities.