BioCentury
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Four more biotechs join IPO queue

October 12, 2013 12:12 AM UTC

Four more biotechs announced IPO plans on Friday, bringing the queue by BioCentury's tally to at least 21. Gene therapy company Celladon Corp. (San Diego, Calif.) filed to raise up to $86.3 million in an IPO underwritten by JPMorgan; Barclays; Stifel; and Wedbush PacGrow. Celladon's Mydicar is in the Phase IIb CUPID 2 trial to treat advanced heart failure (HF), with data expected mid-2015. The product is a recombinant adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector carrying the gene for sarcoplasmic reticulum ATPase Ca++ transporting cardiac muscle slow twitch 2 ( ATP2A2; SERCA2A) (see BioCentury, March 5, 2012).

Antibody company Xencor Inc. (Monrovia, Calif.) filed to raise up to $69 million in an IPO underwritten by Credit Suisse; Leerink; and Wedbush PacGrow. Xencor's XmAb technology consists of optimized Fc domains that can be substituted for an antibody's natural Fc domains. The company's pipeline includes MOR208 (formerly XmAb5574), which is licensed to partner MorphoSys AG (Xetra:MOR; Pink:MPSYF). The Fc-optimized human mAb against CD19 is in Phase II testing for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) and B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). Xencor's XmAb5871 is in a Phase Ib/IIa trial for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), with data expected in 2H14. Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) has an option to license the humanized mAb targeting CD19 and Fc gamma receptor IIb ( CD32B; FCGR2B) (see BioCentury, July 12, 2010). ...