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With the emergence of sickle cell disease research, Graphite Bio intends to conduct a $238 million IPO


Graphite Bio’s technology accurately discovers and replaces genes, providing potential treatments for genetic diseases.The gene-editing biotechnology company is preparing to put its most advanced therapeutic drug candidate for human testing and conduct an initial public offering later this year Raised $238 million For this plan and other plans in preparation.

Graphite, headquartered in South San Francisco, initially planned to issue 12.5 million shares at a price of between US$15 and US$17 per share. Late Thursday, the biotech company expanded the transaction size to 14 million shares, which is at the top of the expected price range. Graphite’s stock will be traded on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “GRPH”.

The other two biotech companies’ IPO prices were 9-figure this week. For more information about Elevation Oncology and Monte Rosa Therapeutics stock market debuts, please see below.

In graphite Listing applicationThe company said its platform technology is based on current gene editing methods to achieve “efficient targeted gene integration.” CRISPR technology finds the gene that biotechnology wants to repair, and a DNA repair mechanism called homology directed repair (HDR) replaces the DNA in the target gene. The therapy is delivered to the destination through engineered virus, adeno-associated virus type 6. Graphite aims to develop its technology for gene correction, gene replacement, or targeted gene insertion into selected locations on chromosomes.

Genetic correction is Graphite’s first test. The company’s lead project GPH101 is a potential treatment for sickle cell disease, which is an inherited disease caused by a single mutation that causes red blood cell abnormalities. With GPH101, Graphite aims to eliminate mutations that cause disease and replace them with natural gene sequences. If effective, the therapy can restore the normal expression of hemoglobin (the oxygen-carrying protein in red blood cells). In mouse studies, Graphite stated that its method significantly increased the expression of normal adult hemoglobin, prolonged the lifespan of red blood cells from two days to 19 days, and eliminated sickling of these cells. The FDA has approved Graphite’s Phase 1/2 research plan, which the company plans to start in the second half of this year. The preliminary proof-of-concept data is expected to be released at the end of 2022.

The Graphite technology platform is licensed by Stanford University and developed in the laboratories of the university’s scientific founders Matthew Porteus and Maria Grazia Roncarolo.start up roll out In September last year, Versant Ventures led the investment of US$45 million. According to the IPO documents, Graphite has raised US$197.7 million, and the most recent time it completed a US$150.7 million Series B financing in March. Versant remains the largest shareholder, owning 29.8% of the company’s shares after the IPO; Reincarnation Bio-Capital owns 12.7%; Porteus owns 6.5% of the shares.

According to the IPO document, Graphite plans to spend US$90 million for the Phase 1/2 test of GPH101 sickle cell disease. The company has budgeted US$40 million for preclinical research of GPH201, which may lead to the start of a Phase 1/2 study of X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency. Another US$40 million is planned for preclinical and potential clinical development of GPH301, a treatment for Gaucher disease. US$80 million was spent on the company’s discovery phase project.

Elevation Oncology receives US$100 million for targeted anticancer drugs

Cancer therapies are developing towards targeted therapies that target certain genetic features on tumors. Elevation Oncology is one of the few companies to develop fusion drugs targeting neuromodulin-1 (NRG1). The company is conducting a potential critical test of its lead drug candidate and has raised $100 million through an IPO to fund the research.

Elevation in New York provide 6.25 million shares at US$16 per share, which is the midpoint of its estimated price range of US$15 to US$17 per share. Elevation’s stock will be traded on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “ELEV”.

NRG1 fusion is a rare genomic change that activates HER3 to drive cancer growth, which in turn triggers cell proliferation pathways. Elevation’s drug candidate seribantumab is a monoclonal antibody that binds to the HER3 receptor and competes with the NRG1 fusion protein, the company said in its statement. Listing applicationThis approach is designed to prevent the HER3 signaling cascade, which is thought to trigger overactivation of the tumor-maintaining pathway.

Seribantumab was acquired from Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, which stopped research on the drug after interim data from an interim lung cancer study showed that it did not improve patients’ survival without cancer progression. Elevation is seeking the tumor-agnostic application of the drug-treating any type of cancer, as long as it has NRG1 fusion. Seribantumab is currently undergoing a phase 2 clinical trial to recruit patients with solid tumors driven by NRG1 fusion, who have progressed after at least one early treatment. It is expected that the mid-term data will be released at the end of 2021 or early 2022.

Since its establishment in 2019, Elevation said it has raised $97.4 million. According to the prospectus, Aisling Capital is Elevation’s largest shareholder and owns 11.6% of the biotech company after the IPO. As of the end of the first quarter of this year, Elevation reported holding $69.9 million in cash. Combined with the IPO proceeds, the company plans to spend 60 million to 70 million U.S. dollars to advance seribantumab by completing phase 2 clinical trials. The company believes that if successful, it may support the submission of applications for accelerated approval. The remaining cash will fund the further development of the drug pipeline. The company estimates that its capital will support the company into the second quarter of 2023.

“GLUE” conducts a $222.3 million IPO for protein-degrading drugs

The field of protein degradation drugs ushered in another listed company, Monte Rosa Therapeutics’ IPO was 222.3 million US dollars. The preclinical biotechnology company plans to sell 9.75 million shares at a price of $17 to $19 per share.Wednesday, it Promote The transaction size was 11.7 million shares, issued at the top of its estimated price range. These stocks are traded on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “GLUE”.

The cell has a built-in system to dispose of old or damaged proteins. Use drugs that target protein degradation to process machinery called the proteasome by directing disease-related proteins. The target protein is labeled with a molecular tag, marking it for processing. Not all proteins have binding sites for these molecules. Monte Rosa in Boston aims to overcome this limitation with small molecules called “molecular glues.”In its Prospectus, The company said that its technology has designed these molecular glue degradants to open the door to protein degradation for diseases that were previously considered “incurable”.

Monte Rosa’s most advanced plan is to develop small molecules that target a protein called GSPT1. According to the IPO document, the company’s goal is to treat cancer driven by Myc, a gene family that evades drug hunters. GSPT1 plays a key role in protein synthesis. By degrading this protein, Monte Rosa aims to trigger the death of cancer cells. Lung cancer is the first target. The company’s goal is to initiate preclinical research, submit an investigational new drug application (IND) in the second half of this year, and formally submit the document in the first half of next year.

The origins of Monte Rosa can be traced back to Ridgeline, a drug discovery startup incubator of Versant Ventures. Since its launch in 2018, Monte Rosa has raised more than 220 million U.S. dollars, the most recent being in March it received 95 million U.S. dollars in Series C financing. According to the IPO documents, Versant Ventures is Monte Rosa’s largest shareholder and owns 20.5% of the company’s shares after the IPO. New Enterprise Associates owns 15.6% of the shares after the IPO.

As of March 31, the company reported that it had $168.4 million in cash. The funds will be used with the IPO proceeds for the development of the drug pipeline. The GSPT1 program will receive between US$47 million and US$57 million to advance the Phase 1/2 testing. It is estimated that between US$120 million and US$130 million are planned for the development of other discovery projects; the company aims to introduce a second project through the first phase of testing; obtain the third project by submitting an IND; and enter the fourth to enter IND-supported research. Monte Rosa estimates that the company will have sufficient funds to fund operations in the third quarter of 2024.

Image courtesy of Meletios Verras, Getty Images



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