Clearside Biomedical, a US-based biopharmaceutical company focused on eye diseases that is backed by pharmaceutical firm Santen Pharmaceutical, has priced its initial public offering at $50.4m.
The company is offering 7.2 million shares on Nasdaq at $7 each. The company’s target size was $57.5m, which it would achieve if underwriters choose to exercise their 30-day option of purchasing an additional 1.08 million shares.
Established in 2011, Clearside is working on therapies for conditions of the eye that cause blindness, focusing on diseases that affect the retina and choroid.
The money will help the company fund a phase 3 clinical trial for its lead drug candidate, initiate a phase 3 trial for another treatment and prepare an investigational new drug application and launch a phase 1/2 trial for a third therapy. The remaining cash will go towards R&D.
Clearside secured approximately $48m in funding, most recently closing a $20m series C round in December 2015 that featured AJU IB Investment, Cormorant Asset Management, Perceptive Advisors, Rock Springs Capital Management and unnamed existing shareholders.
Santen participated in the company’s $7.9m series A round in 2013 as part of a research collaboration agreement. Hatteras Venture Partners, Mountain Group Capital, Georgia Research Alliance Fund and Kenan Flagler Business School Private Equity Fund also took part in that round.
Santen then returned alongside Hatteras, Mountain Group and Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) for a $16m series B round in 2014 that was also supported by Russian state-backed fund RusnanoMedInvest.
Santen holds a 9.1% share of Clearside, which will be reduced to 5.7% following the offering.
Hatteras, the company’s largest shareholder, will see its 28.4% stake reduced to 17.7%, while RMI Investments, a fund connected with Rusnano, will own 7.7% (down from 12.3%) and GRA Venture Fund will hold 4.5% (diluted from 7.1%).
RBC Capital Markets and Stifel are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering. Needham & Company and Wedbush PacGrow Healthcare are serving as co-managers.