Erasca is a biotechnology-developed therapy designed to combat notorious cancer targets, and now has $300 million in new cash to continue clinical development of its main project and use a series of other drug candidates for human trials.
The San Diego-based company initially planned to issue 17.5 million shares at a price of between $14 and $16 per share.But Elaska can Expand the deal 18.75 million shares are offered at the top of the estimated price range. On Friday, these stocks began trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “ERAS.” Erasca’s first trading day closed at $17.43 per share, an increase of nearly 9% from the IPO price.
The name Erasca is a compound word for “eliminate cancer.” The company sees it as its mission and repeats it many times throughout the process Listing applicationThe company jokingly revealed that it calls its employees “Erascals.” But the company name also revealed its approach: “Broot RASdrive thatancer,” founder and CEO Jonathan Lin wrote in a letter in the prospectus.
The protein encoded by the RAS gene plays a role in cell signaling, like a switch that regulates cell growth. Mutations can cause the switch to get stuck in the “on” position. The result is unregulated cell growth that leads to cancer. Although the role of RAS in cancer has been understood, it has been difficult to treat it with drugs. Erasca is developing therapies to turn off the RAS gene and MAPK pathways, which are one of the most frequently altered signaling pathways in cancer.
Of the company’s 11 pipeline projects, two have entered the clinic. ERAS-007 is currently in Phase 2 testing in patients with solid tumors with altered RAS/MAPK, regardless of the type of tissue the tumor has formed. ERAS-601 is in the first phase of testing for RAS/MAPK to change tumors. Both are oral small molecule drugs. But Erasca does not rely on specific types of drugs. Although its only focus is to turn off RAS/MAPK, it says it can do this with small molecules, large molecules, or protein-degrading drugs. Other projects are making progress in clinical trials.
“We expect that in the next six quarters, the clinic will have four product candidates and one more [Investigational New Drug application] Submit an application every 12 to 18 months for the next five years,” Elaska said in the prospectus.
Although RAS is difficult to be drugged, it can no longer claim to be irresistible. in May, Amgen receives FDA approval for Lumakras to treat non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), targeting rare mutations in KRAS, Part of the RAS series. But NSCLC has a tendency to spread to the brain, and Erasca believes this is an area that can stand out. In the IPO document, Erasca cites animal tests of approved Amgen drugs and Mirati Therapeutics’ experimental adagrasib, showing that these drugs do a poor job of penetrating the central nervous system. Erasca said that it is developing drugs that target the same rare KRAS mutations and provide comparable or even better therapeutic effects, as well as the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier.
According to the prospectus, City Hill Ventures is Erasca’s largest shareholder, owning 10.3% of the shares after the IPO. After the initial public offering, ARCH Venture Partners owns 9.5% of the company’s shares. Before going public, Erasca raised a total of US$320.4 million. As of the end of the first quarter of this year, the company reported that it had $217.3 million in cash. This cash, together with the proceeds of the IPO, will be deployed in the Erasca pipeline.
According to the prospectus, the company plans to spend between US$90 million and US$100 million on a series of Phase 1b/2 tests of its main drug candidate by reporting data from one or more studies. Another US$45 million to US$50 million will be used for the development of ERAS-601 through the data readout of the ongoing phase 1 clinical trial. The company has budgeted between 75 million and 90 million US dollars for the continued discovery and development of RAS/MAPK drugs in other pipelines, and one or more of these drugs may be used for human testing. The company estimates that it has sufficient funds to fund operations for at least the next two years.
Imago’s IPO raised US$134 million, plus another US$20 million from Pfizer
Imago BioSciences raised US$134.4 million to continue the clinical development of its main drug, which is being developed to treat bone marrow cancer. The South San Francisco-based company plans to sell 7 million shares at a price of $14 to $16 per share. Imago is able to expand the scale of transactions and provide 8.4 million shares At the top of its target price range. These stocks are traded on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “IMGO”.
At the same time as the IPO, Pfizer has agreed to purchase $20 million worth of Imago shares at the IPO price. Prospectus.
Imago’s research focuses on small molecules targeting lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1), a key enzyme that produces blood cells in the bone marrow. So far, the Imago pipeline is a drug candidate bomedemstat. The drug is being developed to treat a variety of myeloproliferative tumors (MPN), a family of chronic cancers that affect the bone marrow. The three most common of these diseases are myelofibrosis, essential thrombocythemia and polycythemia vera. Phase 2 studies are evaluating the role of bomedemstat in myelofibrosis and essential thrombocytosis.
According to the IPO documents, since Imago was founded in 2012, the company has raised US$164.8 million. The company’s largest shareholder is Clarus Lifesciences, which owns 10.5% of the shares after the IPO. After the initial public offering, Frazier Healthcare Partners and Omega Fund each held 9% of the company’s shares.
At the end of the first quarter of this year, Imago reported a cash position of $82.7 million. With cash on hand, Pfizer’s investment and IPO proceeds, the company plans to apply for $50 million for the clinical development of bomedemstat for the treatment of essential thrombocythemia by completing phase 2 and phase 3 clinical trials. An additional US$10 million is allocated for the development of drugs for phase 2 testing of myelofibrosis. The funds will also be used for the production of bomedemstat, the development of drugs for other indications, and internal research and development.
With the progress of the first clinical trial, TScan’s IPO received US$100 million
TScan Therapeutics, a company that designs patient T cells to produce its cancer immunotherapy, raised $100 million to advance its project to their first human test.Biotechnology company based in Waltham, Massachusetts provide Nearly 6.7 million shares at US$15 per share, which is the low end of its estimate of US$15-17 per share. TScan shares are traded on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “TCRX”.
TScan analyzes T cells from cancer patients who have a specific response to immunotherapy.The biotech company in its Listing application Its TargetScan technology learns the targets recognized by the T cell receptor (TCR) and provides the company with TCR/target pairs that can be made into therapeutic drug candidates. Another technology called ReceptorScan identifies valid TCRs against previously identified and verified targets. The best TCR candidates determined by the two technologies are added to TScan’s TCR collection, called ImmunoBank.
TScan therapy is performed by obtaining white blood cells from patients or healthy donors. In the company’s manufacturing plant, T cells are isolated and modified using TCR sequences from ImmunoBank. These cells are sent back to the hospital and injected into the patient’s body. It is expected that these cells will proliferate in the patient’s body to produce an anti-tumor response.
TScan’s pipeline spans six projects for liquid and solid tumors. The two most advanced procedures are for liquid tumors. TSC-100 and TSC-101 are being developed for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia, myelodysplastic syndrome and acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The company expects to submit an investigational new drug application to the FDA in the fourth quarter of this year.
The solid tumor projects-TSC-200, TSC-201, TSC-202 and TSC-203-are being developed for head and neck cancer, cervical cancer and anal cancer, as well as non-small cell cancer and melanoma. These programs are in the lead optimization stage.
Since TScan was established in 2018, the biotech company has raised $160 million, the most recent $100 million in Series C financing Financing in January. According to the prospectus, Baker Brothers Consulting is the largest shareholder, holding 18.2% of the shares after the initial public offering.
TScan plans to spend approximately US$30 million for Phase 1/2 testing of TSC-100, TSC-101, and TSC-102, so that each of them will complete the Phase 1 part and part of the Phase 2 study. Another US$35 million is used to incorporate three preclinical projects into the first phase of testing; US$25 million is dedicated to the development of its discovery phase projects.
