Sera Prognostics, a US-based pregnancy diagnostics product provider backed by healthcare insurer Anthem and diagnostics service provider LabCorp, has filed to raise $75m in an initial public offering.
Founded in 2008, Sera has developed a blood-based biomarker test called PreTRM which is designed to predict the risk of a pregnancy being delivered prematurely.
The proceeds of the IPO will go toward clinical studies and commercialisation activities for PreTRM as well as building out the capacity of Sera’s clinical laboratory and technology infrastructure and further developing its proteomics and bioinformatics platform.
Anthem and investment firm Blue Ox Healthcare Partners co-led a $100m series E round for the company in April this year, with participation from Vivo Capital, aMoon Fund and Parian Global Management.
Sera had previously collected $36m in a late 2019 series D round co-led by Blue Ox Healthcare Partners and two undisclosed healthcare companies, with LabCorp, Domain Associates, InterWest Partners, Catalyst Health Ventures and Chione also taking part.
LabCorp had also led a $40m series C round for the company in 2017 that included existing investors. It had previously raised $44.3m from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Osage University Partners, Chione, Domain Associates, InterWest Partners, Catalyst Health Ventures and UpStart Life Sciences Capital across two rounds in 2011 and 2017.
Blue Ox Healthcare Partners is the largest Sera shareholder, with a 17.1% stake, followed by Anthem (11.9%), Domain Associates (9.9%), InterWest Partners (9.8%), Chione (7%), LabCorp (6.4%), Vivo Capital (6.2%), aMoon (6.2%) and Baker Bros Advisors (5.4%).
Citigroup, Cowen and William Blair have been appointed underwriters for the offering, which is set to take place on the Nasdaq Global Market.