US-based anti-aging therapy developer Unity Biotechnology filed on Friday for an $85m initial public offering that will allow pharmaceutical research firms WuXi PharmaTech and Mayo Clinic to exit.
Unity is developing treatments for age-related conditions such as arthritis, vision loss or cognitive decline. The IPO proceeds will fund a phase 1 clinical trial for its lead product candidate, a senolytic molecule treatment for osteoarthritis called UBX0101.
Additional capital will go to a phase 1 clinical study for a second candidate, UBX1967, which is being developed to combat ophthalmologic disease, and general research and development activities.
The IPO follows at least $212m of funding, including $2.3m from WuXi PharmaTech, Mayo Clinic, Venrock, Arch Venture Partners and company president Nathaniel E. David in 2015, and $4m from the same investors later in the year, before Unity secured $151m in a series B round that closed in June 2017.
The series B featured the 2015 investors, Fidelity Management and Research (FMR), Baillie Gifford, Partner Fund Management (PFM), Bezos Expeditions, Vulcan Capital, Founders Fund, Pathfinder Investment Fund, Andalucia Ventures, Invus Opportunities, Three Lakes Partners, Cycad Group, Pivotal Alpha, Com Investments and company executive Jamie Dananberg.
Unity then raised $55m from 6 Dimensions Capital, the investment fund co-launched by WuXi PharmaTech, as well as FMR, EcoR1 Capital Fund, Altitude Life Science Ventures, Baillie Gifford, PFM, Arch Venture Partners, Venrock, Founders Fund, Longevity Fund, Pivotal Alpha and Invus Opportunities last month.
WuXi subsidiary WuXi PharmaTech Healthcare Fund holds an 8.9% share of the company, while Mayo Clinic owns 6.9%. Unity’s largest shareholder is Arch Venture Partners (27.5%), while other notable investors include Venrock (7.3%), Baillie Gifford (7%) and FMR (6.1%).
Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup Global Markets and Mizuho Securities USA have been appointed underwriters for the offering, which is set to take place on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.