US-based cancer immunotherapy developer NexImmune raised $110m in an upsized initial public offering on the Nasdaq Global Market on Thursday, providing exits to pharmaceutical firms Amgen and Pfizer.
The company issued nearly 6.5 million shares priced at $17, the top of its range, and shares closed at $25.33 on the first day of trading on Friday. It had originally aimed for $86.3m in proceeds when it first filed last month.
Spun out of Johns Hopkins University in 2011, NexImmune is developing immunotherapies that exploit nanoparticles to activate natural T cells and destroy cancer cells.
Proceeds will allow NexImmune to expand an ongoing phase 1/2 trial for its asset targeting patients with acute myeloid leukaemia and to expand the cohort for its phase 1/2 trial aimed at patients with multiple myeloma.
The company will also bolster process development and manufacturing activities related to the two aforementioned programmes and money will go towards the development of its preclinical pipeline and platform optimisation.
New Enterprise Associates led a $3m round in 2014 that included corporate venturing divisions Pfizer Ventures and Amgen Ventures. NexImmune added $2m in convertible debt financing in 2015.
The spinout raised $25m in a series A round in 2018 from investors including Barer & Son Capital, Allen & Company, ArrowMark Partners, Meridian Small Cap Growth Fund and Piedmont Capital Partners.
NexImmune subsequently received $7.8m in series A-2 financing in February 2019 and $11m in a series A-3 round 10 months later. Investors including Barer & Son Capital and ArrowMark Partners provided $22m in a convertible note round closed in January 2021.
Neither Amgen nor Pfizer own more than 5% in the company, whose notable shareholders include ArrowMark Partners, Barer & Son Capital, Allen & Company and Piedmont Capital Partners.
Barclays Capital, Cantor Fitzgerald & Co, Raymond James & Associates and Allen & Company are the joint book-running managers. They have a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 970,650 shares.
