GlobeImmune has taken a big step forward in its second attempt to go public. Now the question is whether the Louisville, CO-based biotech will get to the finish line this time around.
According to a regulatory filing posted by the company on Tuesday, GlobeImmune intends to price its shares between $15 and $17 apiece and sell 2,187,500 shares total at its IPO. GlobeImmune would pocket $32.8 million at $15 per share, and nearly $37.2 million if it reaches the $17 target. The company announced its intention to go public in March.
The company would trade on the NASDAQ under the symbol “GBIM” if it goes public. It did not announce a date for the offering.
GlobeImmune was founded in 1995 and is developing potential cancer and infectious disease treatments that are designed to work by stimulating T cells to seek out and attack certain specific, infected cells.
GlobeImmune has drug development partnerships in place with Foster City, CA-based Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GILD]]) and Summit, N.J.-based Celgene (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CELG]]). Through its deal with GlobeImmune, Gilead grabbed rights to an experimental chronic hepatitis B drug, GS-4774, that is in a mid-stage clinical trial. Celgene, meanwhile, is working on possible cancer treatments with the Colorado company. The most advanced drug candidate to come out of that so far, GI-6207, is in a Phase 2 study as well. According to the company’s IPO prospectus, those partnerships have brought GlobeImmune $60 million.
Celgene owns a 12.8 percent stake in GlobeImmune, and other major investors include HealthCare Ventures and Morgenthaler Partners, which each own 11 percent of the company. According to the filing, they and other investors have indicated an interest in purchasing an aggregate of up to $10 million shares of common stock at the IPO price.
This is the second time GlobeImmune has tried to go public and reached the point where it has priced its shares. The prior attempt came in 2012, when the company attempted to raise $74.8 million. The IPO was withdrawn, however, last October.
Aegis Capital is underwriting the deal and has the option to purchase up to 328,125 additional shares to cover overallotments.
