Veradermics launches US$214m NYSE IPO
In a sign of growing investor appetite for biotechs, Veradermics launched its US$213.6m NYSE IPO on Wednesday afternoon with an upfront order to purchase US$30m of the deal.
Jefferies, Leerink Partners, Citigroup and Cantor are marketing 13.35m shares at a US$14–$16 range for pricing next Tuesday, February 3. Wellington Management has pledged to invest US$30m or about 15% of the deal.
This is a new investment for Wellington, after the long-only fund manager missed out on Veradermics' US$150m Series C funding round in October last year. The IPO is being marketed at roughly a 1.2 times step-up to the US$12.81 per share valuation on the Series C round.
Including the Series C funding, the hair loss-focused biotech said it had US$165.7m as of September 30 – it did not provide updated figures at launch through December 31.
Veradermics is using the money to fund Phase II/III trials on an oral, extended-release formulation of minoxidil, the generic name for the OTC hair loss remedy Rogaine.
Oral minoxidil is an FDA approved treatment for high blood pressure. Because of the drug's strong potency, only topical cream formulations of minoxidil are approved by the FDA as treatments for hair loss.
Veradermics has already finished the Phase II trials on its lead drug. The IPO would allow it to fully fund a Phase III trial in men and women, including patients with alopecia, as well as partially fund the drug's commercial launch, if approved.