Karyopharm joined the Q4 biotech IPO parade today, pricing its shares at the top of the range and hauling in $109 million on an upsized batch of 6.8 million shares--a hefty premium over the $80 million raise initially eyed in its S-1.
Karyopharm ($KPTI) managed to attract investors despite its early-stage status. The company plans to fast-track a Phase II/III program for its lead therapy, Selinexor--or KPT-330. The big idea at the Natick, MA-based company lies in its approach to trapping tumor-suppressing proteins in the nucleus of cancer cells, conspiring in their destruction. And investigators have gained some preliminary insights into the treatment's ability to do what it's designed to do. The biotech believes it can vault quickly into a Phase II/III study in the first half of next year.
Forsight Capital Management--which has a mix of public and private companies in its portfolio--led the latest venture round totaling $67 million, signaling that an IPO was on the way.
This latest IPO signals a continued wave of new offerings in the fall, capping a blizzard of public debuts through the course of the year. Ever since the IPO boom took off in the second quarter, analysts have been speculating how long the IPO window will remain open for an industry long starved of new offerings. No one really knows the answer to that question, but the boom evidently has yet to run its course.
In related IPO news, Vital Therapies--working on a therapy for liver failure--said it would look to raise about $75 million by selling 4.4 million shares at $16 to $18 a share. King of Prussia, PA-based Trevena ($TRVN), meanwhile, said it will sell 5.8 million shares at a range of $12 to $14.
- here's the press release on Karyopharm's IPO
- here's the brief on Vital Therapies
- here's the brief on Trevena