Cognition Therapeutics, Pyxis Oncology and IsoPlexis Corp. all announced IPO plans.
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After weeks of slowing initial public offerings within the biopharma and life sciences industries, within the last 24 hours, three companies announced plans to list their stocks on the Nasdaq. Cognition Therapeutics, Pyxis Oncology and IsoPlexis Corp. all announced IPO plans.
This morning, New York-based Cognition Therapeutics began trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “CGTX.” The company hopes to raise approximately $45.2 million in its IPO. The stock opened at $12 per share.
Cognition is developing small molecule therapeutics targeting age-related degenerative diseases and disorders of the central nervous system. Compounds within its pipeline target the σ-2 (sigma-2) receptor, which is a key regulator of the cellular damage response. The receptor is expressed in multiple call types, including neuronal synapses. The company’s lead product candidate is CT1812, which is currently in a Phase II study in Alzheimer’s disease.
Pyxis Oncology, based in Cambridge, Mass., also began trading on the Nasdaq this morning under the ticker symbol “PYXS.” The stock opened at $16 per share and the company expects its IPO will net about $168 million that will be used to advance its cancer treatments.
For Pyxis, the IPO comes months after it raised $152 million in a Series B financing round. Financing from that round was aimed at supporting the development of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) the company licensed from Pfizer, as well as an ADC it gained from LegoChem Biosciences. Pyxis launched in 2019 and has developed a portfolio of ADCs and monoclonal antibodies aimed at different forms of cancer.
The third company to list on the Nasdaq today is Connecticut-based IsoPlexis Corporation. The company began trading this morning under the ticker symbol “ISO.” Its stock is listed at $15 per share and IsoPlexis aims to raise $125 million from the IPO.
IsoPlexis uses a single-cell proteomics system to reveal biological activity in small subsets of cells. The system’s goals are to provide researchers with the ability to develop more precise and personalized therapies for patients.
Earlier this year, IsoPlexis acquired an intellectual property portfolio of 86 DNA and RNA sequencing patents. The technologies have been integrated with IsoPlexis’ single cell proteomics platforms to enable a series of next generation assays that incorporate multiple ‘omic modalities from every single cell.
Also this week, MPM Capital secured $850 million to finance its second Oncology Impact Fund, OIF 2, which is believed to be the world’s largest biotech impact investment fund. The funds in OIF 2 will be used to form new oncology-focused companies, as well as invest in other cancer companies developing innovative treatments. Additionally, the funds from OIF 2 will also be used to support the development of cell and gene therapies. MPM said it will identify the most compelling drug development programs for OIF 2.
The $850 million raised for OIF 2 exceeded MPM’s target of $650 million. It also nearly doubled the $471 million raised in 2016 for MPM’s first Oncology Impact Fund, OIF 1. The funds in OIF 2 will be managed by BioImpact Capital, an affiliate of MPM Capital.
