Jaguar Animal Health, a US-based drug developer for gastrointestinal conditions affecting pets, began trading on Nasdaq yesterday after raising $20m in its initial public offering.
The company, a spin-out from pharmaceutical company Napo Pharmaceuticals, issued 2.86 million shares priced at $7 each, floating at the bottom of the $7 to $9 range it set in November 2014.
Jaguar’s lead prescription drug candidate Canalevia, and its lead non-prescription drug candidate Neonorm are treatments for diarrhoea in dogs. The company has filed nine investigational new animal drug applications with the US Food and Drug Administration.
The IPO proceeds will support studies, commercialisation, formulation costs and manufacturing for Jaguar’s drug candidates. It plans to adapt Neonorm for treatment in six other species, and to develop Canalevia for cats and horses, while $1.3m will be used to repay existing debts.
Napo held a 50.7% stake in Jaguar that was diluted to 32.8% in the offering. The 29.5% stake belonging to private equity firm BioVeda China, Jaguar’s only other notable external stockholder, was diluted to 19.1%.
BCVF provided $2m in series A funding for Jaguar in February 2014. Napo Pharmaceuticals and Napo’s existing backers invested an initial $200,000 in Jaguar in 2013, according to a regulatory filing.
Aegis Capital is acting as book-running manager for the IPO, while Feltl and Company and CRT Capital are serving as co-managers. Jaguar has granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase an additional 429,000 shares, which would increasse the size of the IPO to approximately $23.5m.