Viamet, Avalanche, Loxo file for IPOs
Viamet Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Durham, N.C.), Avalanche Biotechnologies Inc. (Menlo Park, Calif.) and Loxo Oncology Inc. (Stamford, Conn.) each proposed IPOs on NASDAQ. Viamet proposed to raise up to $75 million in an IPO underwritten by Piper Jaffray; Wells Fargo; and Stifel. This half, Viamet plans to start Phase IIb trials of VT-1161 to treat recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis and onchomycosis. VT-1161 is a small molecule metalloenzyme inhibitor of cytochrome P450 C-14 alpha demethylase (CYP51).
Avalanche proposed to raise up to $86.3 million in an IPO underwritten by Jefferies; Cowen; Piper Jaffray; and William Blair. Avalanche plans to report Phase IIa data of AVA-101 to treat wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in mid-2015. AVA-101 is an adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector-based therapy that delivers soluble vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor 1 ( sFLT1; sVEGFR-1), a VEGF inhibitor. Avalanche also hired Samuel Barone as CMO. Barone was a medical officer at FDA's Office of Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies. ...