AAA GenSight narrows ambitions by postponing IPO

GenSight narrows ambitions by postponing IPO

France-based biotech company GenSight, backed by pharmaceutical firm Novartis, has postponed its $65m initial public offering, which was set to take place on Nasdaq.

Founded in 2011, GenSight is working on gene-based therapies for mitochondrial and neurodegenerative diseases of the eye and central nervous system, after initially focusing on preserving or restoring vision in patients.

GenSight filed for a $100m IPO in July but downgraded its ambitions, setting a range of $13 to $15m for about 4.7 million shares last month. It expected to use the proceeds for preclinical and clinical development of two drug candidates.

The company raised $36m in series B funding, two weeks after the initial filing, from investors including Novartis Venture Fund, a corporate venturing subsidiary of Novartis.

The round also included financial services conglomerate Fidelity Management & Research as well as Abingworth, Versant Ventures, Index Ventures, Jennison Associates, Sphera Global HealthCare Fund, Perceptive Advisors and HealthCap.

Novartis Venture Fund previously led GenSight’s $41.8m series A round in 2013, which also featured Abingworth, Versant Ventures and Index Ventures.

The company has not revealed why it changed plans or how long it expects to put the IPO on hold. Leerink Partners, Evercore ISI and Canaccord Genuity were set to be the joint bookrunners.

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