Arix Bioscience PLC (LON:ARIX) has said it will invest US$3.0mln (£2.3mln) in the initial public offering being undertaken by its portfolio company, Imara Inc., which will see the UK-listed firm retain a 9.4% stake in Imara.
In a statement, the global venture capital company, which is focused on investing in and building breakthrough biotech companies, noted that Imara has priced its Nasdaq IPO of 4,700,000 shares of common stock at a public offering price of US$16.00 per share for aggregate gross proceeds of $75.2mln.
READ: Arix Bioscience reveals one of its portfolio companies, Imara Inc. has applied to list on Nasdaq
The group pointed out that the IPO - the fifth public listing of an Arix portfolio company – will see the new value of its shareholding in Imara total US$24.9mln (£19.4mln), compared to a cost of £13.7 million, a cumulative revaluation of £5.7mln, or 4.2p per share on the total cash invested in Imara by Arix.
It said the IPO has resulted in an £4.3mln, or 3.1p per share increase in the value of Arix’s existing holding in Imara, which was valued at £10.7mln as at 31 December 2019.
The company noted that Imara expects to use the net proceeds from the IPO to advance development of its lead product candidate, IMR-687, for the treatment of patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) and beta-thalassemia and for working capital and other general corporate purposes, including potential pipeline expansion.
Joe Anderson, CEO of Arix, commented: “Imara’s lead candidate IMR-687 has potential to transform outcomes for people living with sickle cell disease by working on both the white-cell and red-cell aspects of the disease.
“This financing is an important milestone for Imara, with the company planning to use proceeds to advance clinical development of IMR-687 in both sickle cell disease and thalassemia.”
Imara’s common stock is expected to begin trading on The Nasdaq Global Select Market on 12 March 2020 under the ticker symbol “IMRA”.
Mark Chin, Arix Investment Director, will continue to serve on Imara’s board.