ObsEva, a Switzerland-based women’s reproductive health therapy developer backed by pharmaceutical companies Novo and Merck Group, set the range yesterday for an initial public offering up to $103.2m in size.
The company plans to issue 6.45 million shares on Nasdaq priced between $14 and $16 each, equating to proceeds of $96.8m if it floats at the middle of its range.
Founded in 2012, ObsEva is developing treatments for reproductive health conditions such as endometriosis and uterine fibroids, as well as to improve pregnancy and live birth rates for women pursuing in vitro fertilisation (VF).
ObsEva plans to invest $49m of the proceeds in its lead product candidate, an oral receptor antagonist called OBE2109 that will treat symptoms of endometriosis and uterine fibroids. A further $19m will go to developing two other candidates that will assist in IVF and preterm labour.
Merck Serono, a biopharmaceuticals subsidiary of Merck Group, invested an undisclosed sum in ObsEva in 2013 as part of a licensing deal, at the same time as the company raised $34.4m in a series A round featuring Novo, which invested $9.7m, Sofinnova Partners and Sofinnova Ventures.
ObsEva then secured $59m in a 2015 series B round backed by Novo Ventures and MS Ventures, subsidiaries of Novo and Merck Serono, as well as HBM Healthcare Investments, New Enterprise Associates, OrbiMed, Rock Springs Capital, Sofinnova Ventures and Sofinnova Partners.
Novo holds an 11.7% share of ObsEva that will be diluted to 9.1% in the offering, while the 7.9% stake held by Merck Serono subsidiary Ares Trading will be reduced to 6.2%. Sofinnova Partners, the company’s largest shareholder, has a 16.6% share that will be cut to 13%.
Other notable shareholders include Sofinnova Ventures (a 10.2% stake post-IPO), New Enterprise Associates (9.3%), HBM and OrbiMed (6.2% each).
Affiliates of venture capital firm Medicxi have expressed interest in buying $15m of shares in the offering while undisclosed existing investors could potentially invest up to $30m in the IPO.
Underwriters Credit Suisse Securities, Jefferies and Leerink Partners have a 30-day option to buy almost 970,000 additional shares, which could potentially lift the size of the offering to almost $119m.