Neurological disease therapy producer Biogen is set to exit US-based Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) treatment developer Solid Biosciences, which has filed to raise up to $100m in an initial public offering.
Solid is developing therapies for DMD, a genetic muscle-wasting disease that affects one in every 3,500 to 5,000 boys, with the symptoms generally beginning to become apparent between the ages of three and five.
Although there is currently no cure for DMD, Solid’s lead product candidate, SGT-001, is a gene-transfer treatment that will restore proper dystrophin protein expression in a DMD patient’s muscles. The proceeds will support the company’s research and development.
Biogen and hedge fund sponsor Perceptive Advisors each invested $15m to co-lead a $42.5m series B round for Solid Biosciences’ gene therapy subsidiary, Solid GT, in November 2016 with backing from funds managed by Janus Capital Management, before the two later merged.
Biogen, Perceptive, Janus Capital, RA Capital Management, Bain Capital Life Sciences, RTW Investments, Foresite Capital, Cormorant Asset Management and entities affiliated with Leerink Partners provided $25m for Solid Biosciences in April 2017 as part of a series C round.
An affiliate of Biogen invested $3.3m in the second tranche of the round, which the IPO filing states was sized at $35.8m, in October 2017, and which included RA Capital, Perceptive Advisors, Bain Capital Life Sciences (BCLS) and Solid executives Matt Arnold and Gilad Hayeem.
The filing did not however indicate how many shares each investor owns, but Biogen unit Biogen New Ventures holds a 5% stake or higher, as do BCLS, Perceptive, RA Capital and JPMC Strategic Investments, a subsidiary of JP Morgan Chase.
JP Morgan Securities, Goldman Sachs and Leerink Partners are book-running managers for the IPO, while Nomura Securities International and Chardan Capital Markets are also underwriters.