Viela Bio Becomes Latest Biotech Intent on Going Public with $150M Offering
AstraZeneca spinout files for IPO on Nasdaq
August 29, 2019
Viela Bio, the AstraZeneca spin-off biotech, has captured the attention of industry insiders since their $250M Series A investment that launched the company in 2018 and they are continuing to do becoming the latest biotech to announce going public with news of a $150 Million IPO filing.
This would be the largest biotech IPO in the Biohealth Capital Region in 2019, ahead of the $92 Million IPO raised by NextCure in May.
Viela Bio has filed with the SEC and applied to trade as ticker symbol “VIE” on the Nasdaq Global Market with plans to offer just over 37 million shares to the public. An estimated share price or net proceeds from the public offering, which will be underwritten by Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) and Guggenheim Partners, were not disclosed.
The news comes just days after the biotech submitted an application to the FDA for approval to start marketing inebilizumab, its lead product candidate for neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NOSD) which was granted both orphan drug status and breakthrough therapy designation allowing for expedited drug development and regulatory review process.
According to SEC documents, the use of proceeds from the offering will support activities for their BLA approval process for inebilizumab and to conduct pre-commercial and commercial launch activities; among other related activities and operating expenses.
The launch of Inebilizumab is the first step in Viela Bio executing its vision, “to become a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company pioneering treatments for autoimmune diseases by focusing on critical biological pathways shared across multiple indications,” as is written in SEC registration documents.
The company is in a strong position to do just that. They have shown over the past year how they are able to rapidly advance their clinical pipeline and build out a sound product development strategy that is based on shared critical pathways that are the root cause of disease.
In addition, Viela has already put in motion a potential global distribution network. Just before Summer, in May of 2019, they signed collaboration pact with Hansoh Pharma to Develop and Commercialize Inebilizumab for Autoimmune Diseases and Hematologic Cancers in China that is worth up to $220 Million and future royalties.
In June Viela also closed a $75 million Series B round, bringing its total investment raised to more than $350 million since its launch.
With an experienced team of industry experts, lead by Bing Yao, PhD, clinical and regulatory momentum and strong collaborations in place, Viela Bio is signaling that they fully intend on becoming an integrated commercial biotech and they are not wasting time to do so.
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Over the past 11 years, Chris has grown BioBuzz into a respected brand that is recognized for its community building, networking events and news stories about the local biotech industry. In addition, he runs a Recruiting and Marketing Agency that helps companies attract top talent through a blended model that combines employer branding and marketing services together with a high powered recruiting solution.
