U.S.-based immunotherapy NeoImmuneTech (NIT) announced last Monday that it plans to raise around 96 billion won ($86.9 million) from its initial public offering (IPO) on the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) in March.
NIT said that Mirae Asset Daewoo and Hana Financial Investment would underwrite the deal. Under the plan, the biopharmaceutical company seeks to issue 15 million depository receipts in a price range between 5,400 won ($4.86) and 6,400 won ($5.76). On Wednesday, a book-building process for institutional investors determined the exact share price.
Established in 2014, NIT is a spinoff of Korea-based drug developer Genexine. Genexine owns a 25.31 percent stake in NIT, making it the largest shareholder. Based in Rockville, Maryland, the company has offices in Pangyo and a Research Institute in Pohang, South Korea.
“This IPO opportunity would allow us to further enhance our competitiveness by expanding our already robust clinical program for NT-I7.”
-Se Hwan Yang, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of NeoImmuneTech
Along with an executive team with extensive industry experience, Yang leads the company dedicated to expanding the field of immuno-oncology. Yang founded and invented NIT’s drug candidate NT-17 with the aim of enhancing immunity to infectious diseases.
According to NIT, NT-I7 (efineptakin alfa) is the only clinical-stage long-acting human IL-7. It is being studied in multiple clinical trials in solid tumors and infectious diseases (such as COVID-19) and as a vaccine adjuvant. Several of these studies are being conducted under clinical collaboration agreements with global industry leaders in immuno-oncology, including Roche, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Merck.
“We have full confidence in NT-I7’s potential to transform the treatment of cancer, as well as many other diseases where amplifying and improving the functionality of the T cells could provide greater clinical benefit,” said Yang.
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