Dynacure, the France-based muscular disease treatment developer which counts pharmaceutical firm Ionis Pharmaceuticals as an investor, has set the range for an initial public offering that could raise up to $107m.
The company plans to offer 6.3 million American depository shares (ADSs), each representing one ordinary share, at a price range of $15 to $17 on the Nasdaq Global Market. The upper end of the range would imply a market valuation of approximately $334m.
Founded in 2016, Dynacure is developing drug treatments for patients with neuromuscular diseases such as myotubular and centronuclear myopathies.
The company will use about $75m to $85m of the IPO proceeds to complete a phase 1/2 clinical trial for its lead product candidate, DYN101, a proposed treatment for centronuclear myopathy. It also intends to initiate a phase 1/2 clinical trial of DYN101 for children in Europe and begin preparations for future clinical studies in both adults and children.
Dynacure will use approximately $10m to $14m to complete a target validation for DYN201, a potential treatment for a class of neurodegenerative disorders known as hereditary spastic paraplegias.
Perceptive Advisors led a $55m series C round for the company in April 2020 that included state-owned investment bank BPIfrance’s Large Venture, Fabs and Fonds Biothérapies Innovantes and Maladies Rares funds as well as Andera Partners, Kurma Partners, Pontifax and undisclosed funds managed by Tekla Capital Management.
BPIfrance participated in a $55m round for Dynacure in 2018 that was led by Andera Partners and backed by Pontifax, Kurma Partners and Idinvest Partners, after supplying an undisclosed amount of funding for the business the year before.
In 2016, Dynacure received an investment of undisclosed size from Ionis, regional technology transfer office Satt Conectus, Kurma Partners and Idinvest Partners. Satt Conectus had provided about $515,000 in project financing for the company between 2013 and 2015.
A filing shows BPIfrance will remain Dynacure’s largest shareholder despite having its stake reduced from 22.8% to 15.5%.
The company’s other notable shareholders include Andera Partners, which will hold 9.8% following the offering, Ionis (8.2%), Tekla Capital Management (6.1%), Perceptive Advisors (6.1%), Idinvest Partners (5.5%), Pontifax (5.2%), Kurma Partners (4.8%) and Sphera Healthcare (4.6%).
JP Morgan, BofA Securities, Wells Fargo Securities and Needham & Company are the underwriters for the offering, which includes the option to purchase 938,000 additional ADSs. If the greenshoe option is exercised it could increase the IPO size to approximately $122m.