US-based cancer immunotherapy developer NexImmune filed for an $86.3m initial public offering on the Nasdaq Global Market on Tuesday that would give pharmaceutical firms Pfizer and Amgen the chance to exit.
NexImmune is working on immunotherapies based on a nanotechnology platform developed at Johns Hopkins University that are intended to leverage nanoparticles that function as synthetic dendritic cells in order to locate and activate natural T cells to fight off cancer cells.
The IPO proceeds will fund an ongoing phase 1/2 clinical trial for a drug candidate called NEXI-001 in acute myeloid leukaemia and a phase 1/2 trial for a second candidate dubbed NEXI-002 in multiple myeloma.
The company also intends to channel cash into process development and manufacturing activities as it moves its lead candidates toward future registrational trials, in addition to bolstering protein and nanoparticle manufacturing capabilities for its preclinical pipeline.
Venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates led a $3m round for NexImmune in 2014 that also featured corporate venturing units Pfizer Ventures and Amgen Ventures, and it added $2m in convertible debt financing the following year.
The company raised $25m in a 2018 series A round featuring Barer & Son Capital, Allen & Company, ArrowMark Partners, Meridian Small Cap Growth Fund and Piedmont Capital Partners.
NexImmune added $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 that closed earlier this month.
Notable investors in the company include ArrowMark Partners, owner of a 15% stake, as well as Barer & Son Capital and Piedmont Capital Partners (11.2% each) and Allen & Company (4%).
Barclays Capital, Cantor Fitzgerald, Raymond James & Associates and Allen & Company are the underwriters for the offering.
