US-based oncology therapy developer Nurix Therapeutics has filed to raise up to $100m in an initial public offering that would provide an exit for pharmaceutical producer Celgene.
Formerly known as Kura Therapeutics, Nurix is developing small molecule drugs intended to treat cancer and immune disorders by modulating levels of cellular protein. It was co-founded by John Kuriyan and Michael Rapé from University of California (UC), Berkeley, and Arthur Weiss, a professor at UC San Francisco.
Proceeds from the offering will fund the clinical development of the company’s two lead product candidates: NX-2127, which is targeted at refractory B-cell malignancies including leukaemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and immuno-oncology drug NX-1607.
Celgene provided $17m in series C funding for Nurix through a 2015 collaboration agreement, following some $34.5m in earlier financing from investors including Third Rock Ventures and The Column Group (TCG).
Foresite Capital led a $120m round for Nurix in March this year that included Third Rock, TCG, Tavistock Group’s Boxer Capital subsidiary, EcoR1 Capital, Redmile Group, Wellington Management and Bain Capital’s Life Sciences fund.
Bristol-Myers Squibb, the pharmaceutical firm that acquired Celgene in November 2019, owns 6.2% of Nurix’s shares. Its largest investors are TCG (26%), Third Rock (20.9%) and Foresite Capital (7.5%).
JP Morgan Securities, Piper Sandler, Stifel Nicolaus and Needham & Company have been appointed underwriters for the offering, which is slated to take place on the Nasdaq Global Market.
