Heathcare IPOs For June 12

(RTTNews) - The IPO activity in the U.S. healthcare sector is back with a bang this month. Five companies have gone public so far this month. (Inludes Lantern Pharma (LTRN), which is set to begin trading on June 11). Now, let's take a look at the IPOs scheduled for Friday.

1. Avidity Biosciences

La Jolla, California-based Avidity Biosciences is a pre-clinical biotech company developing oligonucleotide-based therapies called Antibody Oligonucleotide Conjugates (AOCs) to treat muscle dystrophy diseases.

AOC platform is for combining the tissue selectivity of monoclonal antibodies with the precision of oligonucleotide therapies targeting the genetic drivers of dystrophy diseases.

Avidity Biosciences has offered to sell 10.0 million shares of common stock in the offering, and the underwriters have an option for 30 days to purchase up to 1.5 million additional shares.

The initial public offering price is expected to be between $14.00 and $16.00 per share.

The company is scheduled to list its IPO on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol "RNA" on June 12, 2020.

Underwriters of the IPO:

Cowen and Company, LLC, SVB Leerink LLC, Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC

Pipeline and Near-term Catalysts:

- The company's lead product candidate is AOC 1001 for the treatment of myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1), a rare monogenic muscle disease. Submission of IND for AOC 1001 is expected in 2021 and the initiation of Phase 1/2 clinical trial in DM1 patients is planned for the end of the same year.

- The other AOC muscle programs are in early stage of research targeting muscle atrophy, Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) and Pompe disease.

The company is collaborating with Eli Lilly & Co. for the development of AOCs directed to up to six messenger RNA (mRNA) targets initially in immunology and other select indications outside of muscles.

2. Vaxcyte Inc.

Foster City, California-based Vaxcyte, formerly known as SutroVax, is a next-generation vaccine company developing conjugate and complex antigen-based vaccines for infectious diseases.

The company is scheduled to list its IPO on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol "PCVX" on June 12, 2020.

Vaxcyte has offered to sell 14.0 million shares of common stock in the offering, and the underwriters have an option for 30 days to purchase up to 2.1 million additional shares.

The initial public offering price is expected to be between $14.00 and $16.00 per share.

Underwriters of the IPO:

BofA Securities Inc., Jefferies LLC, Evercore Group L.L.C., Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. and Needham & Company LLC.

Pipeline and Near-term Catalysts:

- The lead vaccine candidate is VAX-24, is a preclinical, 24-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine or PCV for invasive pneumococcal disease or IPD and Otitis Media.

- The second PCV, known as VAX-XP, also under preclinical testing is for invasive pneumococcal disease and Otitis Media.

While VAX-24 is designed to address the 13 pneumococcal strains covered by Prevnar 13 plus the incremental 11 strains that drive most pneumococcal disease today, the VAX-XP is designed to address the 24 strains plus 8 additional emerging strains expected to cause increasing pneumococcal disease and antibiotic resistance in the future.

- VAX-A1 is a conjugate vaccine candidate to prevent Group A Strep infections, the majority of which are of pharyngitis, commonly known as strep throat, under preclinical development.

- VAX-PG is a novel protein vaccine candidate for periodontal disease with P. gingivalis, also under preclinical testing.

Near-term Catalysts:

- Filing of IND to initiate a phase I/II clinical proof-of-concept study of VAX-24 for invasive pneumococcal disease is expected in the second half of 2021, with topline data expected in 2022.

3. Generation Bio Co.

Generation Bio is a pre-clinical stage genetic medicines company developing non-viral gene therapies for rare and prevalent diseases of the liver and retina.

The company, which was founded in 2016, plans to list its stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol "GBIO" on June 12, 2020.

About *10 million shares of the company's common stock will be sold in the offering, and the underwriters have an option for 30 days to purchase up to 1.11 million additional shares. The initial public offering price is expected to be between *$18.00 and $19.00 per share.

Underwriters of the IPO:

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Jefferies LLC, Cowen and Company, LLC, Wedbush Securities Inc. pl check this

Pipeline:

The company's portfolio includes eight programs focusing on liver and retinal diseases, all of which are in either preclinical, lead optimization or early stage of discovery.

The most advanced liver disease programs are in phenylketonuria, or PKU, and hemophilia A, which are in the preclinical stage of development, and the most advanced retina disease programs are in Leber's Congenital Amaurosis, or LCA10, and Stargardt disease, which are in the lead optimization stage of development.

4. Burning Rock Biotech Ltd

Guangzhou, China-based Burning Rock Biotech is a provider of next-generation sequencing-based cancer therapy selection tests products to assist physicians in selecting the most effective therapy for cancer patients.

The company plans to debut on the Nasdaq Global Market, under the symbol "BNR" on June 12, 2020.

Burning Rock Biotech has offered to sell 13.5 million American Depositary Shares or ADSs in the offering at an expected price of between $13.50 and $15.50 per ADS, and the underwriters have an option for 30 days to purchase up to 2.025 million additional ADSs.

Underwriters of the IPO:

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, BofA Securities, Inc., Cowen and Company, LLC, CMB International Capital Ltd, Tiger Brokers (NZ) Ltd.

Financial Numbers:

The company derives substantially all of its revenues from the sale of its therapy selection tests.

For the three months ended March 2020, the company's net loss attributable to stockholders widened to RMB 78.86 million or RMB 3.15 per share on revenue of RMB 67.33 million. This compared with a net loss attributable to stockholders of RMB 66.16 million or RMB 2.86 per share on revenue of RMB 104.47 million in the comparable period last year.

*Article updated to include the amendments in relation to IPO of Generation Bio.