Scholar Rock, the US-based spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) therapy developer backed by conglomerate Kraft Group, has filed to raise up to $75m in an initial public offering.
Founded in 2012, Scholar Rock is working on monoclonal antibodies that will treat diseases associated with signalling by protein growth factors, by targeting the proteins at a cellular level.
The IPO proceeds will advance the company’s lead drug candidate, an SMA treatment called SRK-015, into phase 1 clinical trials later this year.
Additional capital will support the progress of other antibody program including TGFb1, which could treat bone marrow, tissue and organ fibrosis and immune system evasion by cancer cells, and BMP6, which targets conditions affected by the levels of iron in the body.
Scholar Rock has raised $103m in funding so far, including $20m in a 2014 series A led by Arch Venture Partners and backed by Kraft Group, EcoR1 Capital, Polaris Partners and company founder Timothy Springer.
Fidelity Management and Research (FMR) led the company’s $36m series B round in 2016, investing alongside Cormorant Asset Management and all its existing backers, before it added $47m in a January 2018 round led by Redmile Group.
The IPO filing states that a vehicle called Artal International invested $20m as part of the series C round, but it is unclear whether the entity, which owns a 10.2% share of Scholar Rock, is related to Redmile.
Springer is the company’s largest shareholder, with an 18.2% stake, while other notable investors include FMR (14.9%), Polaris (14.1%), Arch Venture Partners (13.8%) and EcoR1 (5.2%).
Jefferies, Cowen and Company, BMO Capital Markets and Wedbush Securities are the underwriters for the offering, which is set to take place on the Nasdaq Global Market.