US-based hearing loss drug developer Decibel Therapeutics has filed for a $75m initial public offering that would give pharmaceutical companies Regeneron and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and internet technology group Alphabet the chance to exit.
Decibel is working on gene therapies intended to treat hearing loss and restore hearing balance by restoring functional hair cells and non-sensory support cells in the inner ear.
A product candidate called DB-020 is in a phase 1b clinical trial for the prevention of hearing loss related to use of the chemotherapy drug cisplatin. Another Decibel drug candidate, DB-OTO, is designed to treat profound hearing loss caused by mutation of the otoferlin gene.
The IPO proceeds will support preclinical studies for DB-OTO and the launch of clinical trials, as well as the ongoing DB-020 trial and work on gene therapy-based hair cell regeneration techniques.
GSK’s corporate venturing arm, SR One, joined venture capital firm Third Rock Ventures to provide $52m in series A funding for Decibel in 2015.
Alphabet subsidiary GV added an undisclosed amount in 2017 and Regeneron invested $25m the same year through a license and collaboration agreement covering product candidates including DB-OTO.
Decibel then raised $55m in a 2018 series C round featuring Regeneron, GV, SR One, Third Rock Ventures, Bessemer Trust, Schroder Adveq, Foresite Capital, SCubed Capital, Longevity Fund and undisclosed institutional investors.
OrbiMed led Decibel’s $82m series D round in November 2020, investing with GV, SR One, Third Rock Ventures, BlackRock Health Sciences, Casdin Capital, Surveyor Capital, Janus Henderson, Samsara BioCapital, Foresite Capital, S-Cubed Capital, Sobrato Capital and unnamed others.
The company’s largest shareholders are Third Rock Ventures (22%), OrbiMed (21.4%), Regeneron (14.7%), GV (11.3%), Surveyor Capital owner Citadel (7.5%) and GSK (7.2%).
Citigroup Global Markets, SVB Leerink, BMO Capital Markets and Barclays Capital have been appointed underwriters for the offering, which is set to take place on the Nasdaq Global Market.
