Principia Biopharma plans to sell 4.6 million shares priced between $15 and $17 apiece when the rare disease drug developer makes its stock market debut.
The South San Francisco, CA-based biotech set the IPO terms in a regulatory filing on Tuesday. At the midpoint of the proposed range, the Principia IPO would raise $74.8 million. IPO research firm Renaissance Capital says Principia is expected to price its IPO next week.
Principia revealed its IPO plans last month. According to the updated prospectus, the company plans to use $50 million of the stock offering’s proceeds to complete mid-stage studies for its lead drug candidate, PRN1008, and advance it into Phase 3 testing. The pill was developed to treat pemphigus, a rare and chronic disease that causes sores and blisters on the skin and mucous membranes. The current standard of care is steroids, which can lead patients to develop infections, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, and cardiovascular problems. Enrollment for a Phase 2 study testing the Principia drug is complete and the company expects to report final results later this year, according to the updated prospectus. The company says a Phase 3 study in pemphigus is expected to start by the end of 2018.
Principia says PRN1008 could treat multiple autoimmune disorders. A Phase 2 study is underway testing the drug as a treatment for immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), a rare disease characterized by the dangerous drop in platelet levels in the blood. The company plans to use some of the IPO proceeds for the ongoing ITP study. Principia says it will also use $2 million from the IPO proceeds to fulfill its obligations under a partnership with Sanofi (NYSE: [[ticker:SNY]]) focused on a multiple sclerosis drug that is in Phase 1 testing. A separate collaboration deal with AbbVie (NYSE: [[ticker:ABBV]]) yielded a $15 million upfront payment in June. That partnership, which is developing a drug to treat inflammation, has not yet entered preclinical development.
Here’s more on Principia, which traces its origins to laboratories at the University of California at San Francisco.
Photo by Flickr user Anthony Quintano via a Creative Commons license
