The biopharmaceutical company exceeds expectations by selling shares at $17 each.
Kite Pharma, an immuno-oncology specialist, has raised $128m initial public offering (IPO) on Nasdaq. The company sold 7.5 million shares at $17 each, up from its expected $12 to $14, and thereby managed to surpass its initial target of $115m.
Jefferies, Credit Suisse Securities, as well as Cowen and Company acted as joint book-running managers, with Stifel as co-manager. As of July 4, 2014, the shares have further risen to $29.14.
Kite plans to use the money raised for a Phase I and II study on its lead drug in 2015 and use the results to apply for an accelerated US Food and Drug Administration approval for third-line treatment for patients suffering from an aggressive subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. From there, the biotech aims to work backward, gradually proving the treatment’s worth as a second and first-line therapy. In the longer term, it hopes to expand the treatment into other lymphomas and leukaemia.
Kite Pharma is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development of novel cancer immunotherapy products. It was spun out from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and has raised a total $85m – in a series A and venture round – so far.
Kite’s research and development focuses on haematological and solid tumours, as immunotherapy is becoming one of the industry’s hottest fields. Its lead product is eACT, a broad platform technology encompassing T cells manufactured in the lab. These T cells – part of the body’s natural defence mechanism – are genetically re-directed against cancerous cells. The technology essentially turns the body’s own immune system into an effective weapon against cancer.
