Arsanis, a US-based immunotherapy drug developer backed by internet and technology group Alphabet and research hub European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), closed its initial public offering at $46m on Monday.
Founded in 2010, Arsanis is working on monoclonal antibody immunotherapies that will treat serious infectious diseases. Its lead product candidate ASN100, is being developed to treat a potentially fatal infection-based disease known as Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia.
The company had initially raised $40m last week, issuing 4 million shares priced at $10m each – below the $15 to $17 range it had set – but its stock has since climbed steadily to reach $15.41 as of close of trading on the Nasdaq Global Market last night.
Citigroup, Piper Jaffray and Cowen and Company, the joint book-running managers for the offering, subsequently bought an extra 600,000 shares to close the IPO.
The offering came after $95m in debt and equity financing from Alphabet subsidiary GV, EMBL unit EMBL Ventures, Alexandria Venture Investments, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, OrbiMed, Polaris Venture Partners, SV Life Sciences, NeoMed, Section 32 and Anna Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation.
In addition to the IPO proceeds, which will support the advance of the company’s lead drug candidate, a fund affiliated with venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates bought another $20m of Arsanis shares through a private placement.