Day One Biopharmaceuticals, a US-based cancer drug developer backed by conglomerate Access Industries and pharmaceutical firm Takeda, floated yesterday in a $160m upsized initial public offering.
The company issued 10 million shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market priced at $16 per share, at the upper end of the IPO’s $14 to $16 range. Its shares closed at $25.89 on the first day of trading, representing a market capitalisation of approximately $1.56bn.
Founded in 2018, Day One is developing drug treatments for cancer patients of all ages, but is focusing on children first. The company’s lead product candidate, DAY101, is designed to treat patients with a type of brain tumour called progressive low-grade glioma.
The majority of funding will be used to push DAY101 through clinical trials for a number of cancer-related conditions including glioma in children and for a rare type of tumour in adults.
Venture capital firm Canaan remain the largest shareholder in Day One, with a stake diluted to 17.8%. Its other notable shareholders are Access Industries vehicle AI Day 1, which now holds a 14.1% stake, Atlas Venture’s Fund XI (14.1%), Takeda subsidiary Millennium Pharmaceuticals (10.7%) and RA Capital Management (4.9%).
Day One secured $130m in a series B round in February 2021 led by RA Capital and backed by Access Industries’ Access Biotechnology subsidiary, Canaan, Boxer Capital, BVF Partners, Franklin Templeton, Janus Henderson Investors, Perceptive Advisors, Viking Global Investors, Atlas Venture and funds and accounts advised by T Rowe Price.
The company had already picked up $60m of series A funding from Access Biotechnology, Atlas Venture and Canaan when it emerged from stealth in May 2020.
JP Morgan, Cowen, Piper Sandler and Wedbush PacGrow are joint bookrunners for the offering, which includes a 30-day option for the purchase of 1.5 million additional shares which could boost the size of the IPO to $184m.