Less than a year after raising $72.6m in its series A round, Aerovate Therapeutics has gone public following an IPO worth more than $121m.
Aerovate Therapeutics, a US-based pulmonary disease treatment developer backed by spinout-focused venture capital firm Osage University Partners, went public yesterday following an initial public offering that raised more than $121m.
The company issued more than 8.68 million shares priced at $14 in its upsized offering on the Nasdaq Global Market, where it has listed under the ticker symbol AVTE. Shares hit a $29.43 peak on the first day of trading and are worth $22.83 as of the time of writing.
Founded in 2018, Aerovate’s lead asset, AV-101, is a dry powder inhaled formulation for treating pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a rare chronic condition that causes higher blood pressure as small arterial branches in the lungs become constricted due to a proliferation of blood cells.
Aerovate was founded by Benjamin Dake out of investment firm RA Capital Management, which he had joined in 2015 after gaining a PhD in cell, molecular and developmental biology at Tufts University. Tufts does not appear to be involved with Aerovate, however.
Proceeds from the IPO have been allocated to the further development of AV-101, including the completion of a phase 2b portion and data readout of the phase 3 portion of a global phase 2b/3 trial.
The money will also support the continued chemistry, manufacturing and controls work for AV-101, as well as fund expenses related to a commercial launch for the drug.
Aerovate Therapeutics closed a $72.6m series A round backed by Osage University Partners in August 2020. The round was led by Sofinnova Investments with further contributions from Atlas Venture, Cormorant Asset Management, Surveyor Capital and RA Capital.
RA Healthcare, a fund affiliated with RA Capital, had supplied $4m in seed financing in July 2018, according to the prospectus.
RA Capital remains Aerovate’s largest shareholder (23.7% post-IPO), followed by Sofinnova (14.7%), Atlas (11.1%), Cormorant (6.6%) and Surveyor (4.4%).
Jefferies, Cowen and Company and Evercore Group are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering, while Wedbush Securities is acting as a lead manager. They have been granted a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 1.3 million shares.
