Switzerland-based reproductive health company ObsEva raised approximately $96.8m on Wednesday when it priced an initial public offering that will allow pharmaceutical firms Novo and Merck Group to exit.
ObsEva issued 6.45 million shares on Nasdaq priced at $15 each, right in the middle of the $14 to $16 range it set last week.
Joint bookrunners Credit Suisse Securities, Jefferies and Leerink Partners have the 30-day option to buy almost 970,000 more shares, which would increase the size of the IPO to approximately $111m.
ObsEva is developing therapeutics that can treat conditions that negatively affect women’s reproductive health and pregnancy.
The company plans to use $49m of the IPO proceeds to advance development of OBE2109, a hormone that will treat pain caused by endometriosis and heavy menstrual bleeding in pre-menopausal women suffering from uterine fibroids.
An additional $11m will advance a product candidate licensed from Merck subsidiary Merck Serono that will improve clinical pregnancy and live birth rates in women going through in vitro fertilisation, while $8m will go to a potential treatment for preterm labour.
ObsEva had raised more than $93m since it was founded in 2012, with Merck Serono providing an undisclosed amount in 2013, in addition to the $34.4m the company raised from Novo, Sofinnova Partners and Sofinnova Ventures during the same period.
Novo and Merck Serono units Novo Ventures and MS Ventures subsequently took part in a $59m series B round in 2015 that included HBM Healthcare Investments, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), OrbiMed, Rock Springs Capital, Sofinnova Ventures and Sofinnova Partners.
Barring any investments through the IPO, Novo has emerged from the offering with a 9.1% stake, diluted from 11.7%, while Merck Serono’s 7.9% share was cut to 6.2%. Other major investors include Sofinnova Partners (13%), Sofinnova Ventures (10.2%), NEA (9.3%), HBM and OrbiMed (6.2% each).
Entities affiliated with venture capital firm Medicxi have said they may invest $15m while undisclosed existing backers had expressed interest in purchasing $30m of shares through the offering, but ObsEva has not revealed whether those investments took place.