Regulus Therapeutics Inc., a drug development company, in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said it intends to raise up to $57.5 million in an initial public offering of its common shares.
The IPO estimation is indicated to be solely for the purpose of calculating the amount of the registration fee, and the company did not specify the number of shares to be offered at the IPO or the price range.
Regulus plans to use the proceeds from the offering to fund preclinical and clinical development of its initial microRNA development candidates, for the identification and validation of additional microRNA targets and for other corporate purposes.
The company intends to list its stock on the Nasdaq under the symbol RGLS.
Regulus is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of microRNA-based drugs targeting fibrosis, metabolism and cardiovascular diseases, cancer, HCV and immune-related diseases. It was established in 2007 by Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and Isis Pharmaceuticals. Regulus is led by CEO Kleanthis Xanthopoulos, who has been involved in founding companies, including Anadys Pharmaceuticals Inc. that was acquired by Roche in 2011.
Regulus in its filing said that under its existing strategic alliances with GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK, GSK.L), AstraZeneca Plc (AZN, AZN.L) and Sanofi (SNY), it is eligible to receive up to $1.7 billion in milestone payments upon successful commercialization of microRNA therapeutics.
The filing also revealed that Sanofi has shown an interest in purchasing up to $10.0 million of Regulus common stock in the offering at the public offering price. Isis Pharmaceuticals and GlaxoSmithKline have each indicated an interest in purchasing up to $2.0 million of common stock in the offering.
The filing also iAstraZeneca has agreed to purchase $25.0 million of Regulus common stock in a separate private placement concurrent with the completion of the offering.
Regulus, for the fiscal year 2011, had reported a net loss $7.6 million, compared to a loss of $15.6 million in the prior year. Revenues for the year increased to $13.8 million from $8.6 million a year ago.
Lazard Capital Markets, Cowen & Co and BMO Capital Markets are among the underwriters for the offering.
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by RTT Staff Writer
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