Iambic prices its IPO, seeking to raise up to $160m
AI-powered drug discovery company Iambic Therapeutics has announced the terms of its Nasdaq IPO, pitching at a valuation of more than $800 million if all goes through as planned.
The NVIDIA-backed company, based in San Diego, is planning to offer 9.38 million shares at between $15 and $17 each, which would generate proceeds of $135 million to $160 million, according to an SEC filing.
It has indicated that two investors, existing backers ARK Investment Management and Duquesne Family Office, have already signalled their intent to buy around 40% of the offering, which would equate to approximately $60 million in proceeds.
It is hoping to tap into a resurgent biotech IPO environment, which has seen upwards of 20 companies achieve listings this year so far, although the pace has slackened off somewhat in the last couple of months after a particularly buoyant first half.
Iambic has earmarked $75 million of the proceeds for midstage clinical development of lead candidate IAM1363, an oral and brain-penetrating HER2 inhibitor that is currently in phase 1 and has potential in HER2-positive breast cancer and other tumours like non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Another $15 million apiece has been allocated for KIF18A-targeted IAM217 for breast and ovarian cancers and anti-CDK2/4 candidate IAM-C1 for HR+/HER2- breast cancer and CCNE1-amplified tumours, to advance them through phase 1/2 trials. Finally, Iambic is hoping to spend $20 million to develop and upgrade its AI platform, which has already attracted partnership deals with AbbVie, Takeda, Lundbeck, Revolution Medicines, Jazz Pharma, and Bayer.
Iambic plans to trade on the Nasdaq under the IAM symbol after the IPO closes, which is expected next week. The underwriters of the IPO have an option to purchase another 1.4 million shares, which could further swell the value if the offering by up to $24 million.
Meanwhile, in other IPO news this week, Retension Pharma announced the terms for its IPO, offering 3.3 million shares at $11 to $13 apiece, which could raise in the region of $40 million for its plan to develop PDE5 inhibitor RTN-001 for uncontrolled and resistant hypertension.
And Lycia Therapeutics also registered its intention to pursue an IPO, seeking funds for its pipeline of protein degrader candidates, headed by IgE-depleting LCA-0061 for food allergies and LCA-0321, which targets thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor autoantibodies (TRAbs) and is being developed for thyroid autoimmune condition Graves' disease. Both are in phase 1 testing.
