Precision BioSciences, a US-based genomic medicine developer backed by pharmaceutical firms Amgen, EMS and Baxter, has filed to raise up to $100m in an initial public offering.
The company plans to float on the Nasdaq Global Market and has appointed JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Jefferies and Barclays as joint bookrunners for the IPO.
Spun out of Duke University in 2006, Precision BioSciences has created a genome editing platform dubbed Arcus, which is being used in the development of immuno-oncology and genetic disease treatments, as well as in the food industry.
The platform utilises a non-destructive enzyme called a homing endonuclease to trigger gene conversion events, allowing the DNA sequence of the gene to be edited.
A portion of the IPO proceeds will be used to complete a phase 1/2a clinical trial for a CAR-T cancer drug candidate for patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and non-hodgkin lymphoma. The rest will support development of two other disease treatments and construction of a manufacturing facility.
Precision completed a $110m series B round in June 2018 that included Amgen Ventures, Brace Pharma Capital and Alexandria Venture Investments, respective subsidiaries of Amgen, EMS and real estate investment trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities.
Franklin Templeton Investments, Cowen Healthcare Investments, VenBio, Pontifax AgTech, OCV Partners, Adage Capital Management, Cormorant Asset Management, Gilead Sciences, Vivo Capital, Ridgeback Capital, Agent Capital, F-Prime Capital Partners, RA Capital Management, Osage University Partners, Duke Management Company, Longevity Fund and entities affiliated with Leerink Partners backed the round.
VenBio had previously led a $25.6m series A round for the company in 2015, investing alongside Baxter’s corporate venturing vehicle, Baxter Ventures, as well as Amgen Ventures, Osage University Partners, Longevity Fund and F-Prime, then known as Fidelity Biosciences.
Precision’s largest shareholder is Venbio’s Global Strategic Fund, which currently holds a 11% stake in the company, while F-Prime, a subsidiary of investment and financial services group Fidelity, owns 9.7% through its Healthcare Fund IV.