TCR² Therapeutics, a US-based cancer immunotherapy developer backed by pharmaceutical firm WuXi AppTec, has set the terms for an initial public offering that would raise $80m at its upper end.
The company intends to issue 5 million shares on the Nasdaq Global Market priced between $14 and $16 per share, which would put the size of the offering at $70m to $80m. Unnamed shareholders have expressed interest in acquiring $30m of shares in the IPO.
TCR² is working on T cell therapies based on its TRuC-T cell platform that are intended to leverage the body’s T cell receptor (TCR) signalling complex in order to combat solid tumours.
Up to $40m of the IPO proceeds and TCR²’s cash in hand will be put into a phase 1 clinical trial for one candidate, TC-110, in B-cell haematological malignancies, and the development of a second, TC-220, through a phase 1/2 trial for MUC16-positive ovarian cancer.
Another $25m to $30m will be used to take a candidate known as C-210 through a phase 1/2 trial for patients with types of cancer including mesothelin-positive non-small cell lung cancer and ovarian cancer.
The company intends to invest $30m to $35m in its manufacturing capabilities, and $10m in the TRuC-T cell platform. It expects the IPO proceeds to fund operations through 2022, having previously raised almost $170m in funding across two rounds.
6 Dimensions Capital, the investment firm co-founded by WuXi AppTec, co-led TCR²’s $125m series B round with venture capital firm Curative Ventures in March 2018, investing alongside Alexandria Venture Investments, a subsidiary of real estate investment trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities.
The round was filled out by MPM Capital, F2 Ventures, UBS Oncology Impact Fund, Hillhouse Capital, MiraeAsset Financial Group, Redmile Group, ArrowMark Partners, Syno Capital, Haitong International Securities, Lucion Group, Sirona Capital, Cathay Fortune Capital Investment and entities affiliated with Leerink Partners.
TCR² had previously received $44.5m in a 2016 series A round co-led by MPM Capital and F2 Ventures that included UBS Oncology Impact Fund according to the IPO filing.
6 Dimensions, which invested $20m in the series B round, has an 8.9% stake set to be diluted to 7% post-offering. TCR²’s other main shareholders are MPM Capital (19.2% pre-IPO), F2 (16%), UBS Oncology Impact Fund (14.9%), Cathay Fortune (10.7%) and Mirae Asset (5.3%).
Jefferies, SVB Leerink and BMO Capital Markets are joint book running managers for the IPO while Wedbush PacGrow and China Renaissance are co-managers. They will have a 30-day option to buy a further 750,000 shares, potentially lifting the size of the offering to $92m.
