Entasis Therapeutics, a US-based antibacterial medicine developer backed by pharmaceutical companies Novo and AstraZeneca, has filed for an $86.3m initial public offering on the Nasdaq Global Market.
AstraZeneca spun out Entasis in 2015 with $40m of financing to further develop its small-molecule anti-infectives assets, and it is focusing on combatting infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria that are resistant to many existing drug treatments.
Part of the proceeds will fund the progress of the company’s lead product candidate, ETX2514SUL, through a phase 3 clinical trial.
ETX0282CPDP, a treatment being developed for urinary tract infections, will be supported through a phase 1 clinical trial, and Entasis also plans to choose a third candidate from its pipeline to move into a phase 1 trial.
Entasis secured $31.9m in September 2017 to close a series B round featuring Novo, venture capital firms Clarus Ventures, Sofinnova Ventures and Frazier Healthcare Partners, private equity group TPG, VC fund Pivotal BioVenture Partners and investment adviser Eventide Fund at $81.9m.
AstraZeneca remains the company’s largest shareholder, owning 21.6% while Novo, which invested $15.4m in the series B round, holds 13.7%.
The other notable investors in Entasis are Clarus Ventures (14.7%), Frazier Healthcare (12.2%), Pivotal and Soffinova (10.9% each), TPG (9.8%) and Eventide Gilead (6.1%).
Credit Suisse Securities (USA), BMO Capital Markets, SunTrust Robinson Humphrey and Wedbush Securities are the underwriters for the IPO.