AN2 Raises $69 Million in Upsized Initial Public Offering

AN2 Therapeutics broke the drought of biotech initial public offerings in 2022, raising $69 million in an IPO to advance development of its nontuberculous mycobacterial lung disease program.

The bear market has all but put an end to the run of biotech IPOs over the past two years with only nine biotech companies going public over the past three months and collectively raising $762 million. Four of the newly public companies focus on rare disease therapeutics and account for $500 million of that total. At this time last year, 30 therapeutics focused companies had completed IPOs since the beginning of 2021, raising almost $5 billion.

AN2, which is focused on developing treatments for rare, chronic, and serious infectious diseases with high unmet needs, priced 4.6 million shares of its common stock at a price to the public of $15.00 per share. The shares will trade on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “ANTX.”

In addition, AN2 Therapeutics has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 690,000 shares of common stock at the initial public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions.

Proceeds from the IPO are expected to support advancement of AN2’s development candidate epetraborole, a once-daily, orally administered investigational treatment for patients with chronic non-tuberculous mycobacterial lung disease (NTM), which is currently in an ongoing phase 1 trial, with plans for a phase 2/3 pivotal trial and expansion into other lung diseases and infections.

Nontuberculous mycobacterium (NTM) pulmonary disease is a growing global health concern and major unmet medical need due to a lack of new medications being developed to combat these bacteria. NTM are ubiquitous environmental pathogens that can cause progressive lung damage and respiratory failure, particularly in patients with compromised immune systems or underlying pulmonary disorders. Although rare, the incidence of NTM pulmonary disease is increasing worldwide. It is estimated that approximately 130,000 patients suffer from NTM in the United States and Europe, a figure that is growing at a rate of 8 percent annually. The elderly and people with compromised immune or lung function are at greatest risk, as are patients with bronchiectasis for whom it is estimated that up to 50 percent may also have active NTM pulmonary disease.

Author: Rare Daily Staff