RayzeBio has already persuaded investors to hand over more than $400 million to pursue its targeted radiation approach to treating cancer. Now, with its lead product in phase 3 trials, the biotech is eyeing up an IPO to push its plans forward.
In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, the San Diego-based company did not provide details of how much money it expected to raise from the public offering nor how many shares it plans to sell, although a related filing fee table listed the maximum amount at $100 million.
However much is ultimately raised, the company will allocate part of the proceeds to advance its lead candidate RYZ101. A phase 3 trial of the radiopharmaceutical in patients with somatostatin receptor (SSTR)-positive gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors kicked off in May.
The candidate is also being tested in a phase 1 study of patients with SSTR-expressing extensive-stage small cell lung cancer. In its filing, RayzeBio described its hopes for RYZ101 to become a “pipeline-in-a-product” that could be used for other SSTR2-expressing cancers.
Proceeds will also be funneled toward developing RYZ801 and RYZ811, two GPC3-targeting radiopharmaceuticals that are both gearing up for phase 1 trials in hepatocellular carcinoma. The company plans to file for an IND for each candidate in the first half of 2024.
The final asset listed in the company’s pipeline is a small molecule targeting CA9, which is still in the early development stages for clear cell renal cell carcinoma.
RayzeBio also hopes to use some of the IPO haul to finish construction of a GMP manufacturing facility in Indianapolis, the company said in the filing.
The biotech has focused on isotope actinium 225, which is known for its potency, specificity abilities and short ionizing radius. So far, the company has secured $418 million from a group of premier life science investors including venBio Partners, Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners, Versant Ventures and Viking Global Investors.
PeptiDream has also gotten in on the act, signing the first of two agreements with RayzeBio in 2020 to discover and develop radioisotope conjugates for use as radiopharmaceutical therapeutics.
This spring saw a flurry of Big Pharma deals in the radiopharmaceuticals space, with Bicycle Therapeutics signing agreements with the likes of Novartis and Bayer, alongside Novartis also securing the rights to 3B Pharmaceuticals’ cancer-targeting tech.