Tobira Therapeutics and Microlin Bio are pressing pause on their Wall Street hopes, postponing IPOs that would have totaled $88 million at their midpoint and falling victim to a back-and-forth market for biotech debuts.
San Francisco's Tobira planned to offer about 4.6 million shares at between $12 and $14 each, eyeing roughly $60 million to bankroll its lead liver disease candidate. Microlin was seeking just $28 million at midpoint after repeatedly lowering its expectations, in the end failing to move 5.5 million shares at its expected range of $4.50 to $5.50 apiece.
Tobira's lead drug, cenicriviroc, is a Phase II immunomodulator under development for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), an en-vogue therapy among investors after success in the field propelled Intercept Pharmaceuticals ($ICPT) to dazzling heights earlier this year. Microlin, in contrast, is working in much early phases of development, touting a pipeline of discovery-stage therapeutics and diagnostics for cancer based on its proprietary microRNA platform.
But neither was apparently able to convince public investors to get on board, joining a growing list of IPO no-shows that includes Ambrx, Syndax Pharmaceuticals and Mapi-Pharma.
After a record-setting 2013, biotech has enjoyed a prolonged boom in IPOs this year, but the rush of companies angling to make it out of a tightening window has forced many to take steep discounts and offer more shares than perhaps they'd prefer. Over the past month, Auris Medical ($EARS), Loxo Oncology ($LOXO) and Ocular Therapeutix ($OCUL) and others settled for smaller-than-sought deals on their way to Wall Street, missing the frothier days past when even preclinical drugmakers were pulling off high-dollar debuts.
But amid the din of offerings, a few promising biotechs have come through with IPOs that recall the industry halcyon days on Wall Street. Avalanche Biotechnologies ($AAVL) priced a $102 million debut to fund its gene therapies, while Sage Therapeutics ($SAGE) cleared more than $90 million and oncology innovator Kite Pharma ($KITE) took home $128 million.
- read the Tobira story
- get more on Microlin