Radiopharmaceutical diagnostics company Advanced Accelerator Applications ($AAAP) gained about 25%, or $4, in early trading after pricing an IPO on Nov. 10. That makes it at least the third U.S. med tech IPO since mid-September. Med tech IPOs continue to fare well despite a rocky broader market; the two prior ones for NovoCure ($NVCR) and Penumbra ($PEN) remain up by 10% and 34%, respectively.
AAA sold 4.7 million shares at $16 apiece, which was within its anticipated range of $15 to $17. The company markets a half-dozen molecular imaging agents and raised the money, at least in part, to gain pivotal data and regulatory approval for its first therapeutic. It's in a pivotal Phase III trial with Lutathera to treat inoperable progressive midgut carcinoid tumors that reported positive data in September.
Lutathera is a molecular nuclear therapy, specifically a Lu-177-labeled somatostatin analogue peptide. It's already available on a compassionate use or named-patient basis in the U.S. and EU, respectively, since there's no approved treatment for midgut neuroendocrine tumors.
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| AirSeal System--Courtesy of SurgiQuest |
In addition to the AAA IPO pricing, laparoscopic surgery player SurgiQuest has filed for an IPO to raise up to $75 million. It markets the minimally invasive surgical access management system AirSeal. At Sept. 30, the company had deployed more than 1,600 AirSeal Systems at more than 700 institutions globally.
During laparoscopic surgeries, including robotic-assisted ones, AirSeal uses a gaseous barrier to offer real-time sensing of intra-abdominal pressure and also evacuates smoke during the surgery to improve the field of vision. The device results in a more stable and less rigid pneumoperitoneum with the result of roughly 50% lower intra-abdominal pressures during surgeries than use of conventional access devices.
Founded in 2006, SurgiQuest had a total loss of $84.9 million at Dec. 31; investors include Presidio Partners (27.9% pre-IPO stake), River Cities Capital (10.9%), Fletcher Spaght Ventures (10.5%) and California Technology Partners (10.5%). The company reported $34.7 million in revenues during the first 9 months of this year, with a net loss of $15.1 million.
- here are the AAA IPO details
- and here is the SurgiQuest IPO filing