Praxis Precision Medicines Raises $190 Million in IPO to Translate Genetic Insights into CNS Disease Therapies

Less than six months after launching with more than $100 million, Praxis Precision Medicines completed an upsized initial public offering, raising $190 million to advance its pipeline of therapies for central nervous system disorders characterized by neuronal imbalance.

Praxis bumped up its offering ahead of the IPO, pricing 10 million shares of its common stock at $19.00 per share, above the expected price range of $17 to $18 per share. Praxis has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 1,500,000 shares of common stock at the initial public offering price less underwriting discounts and commissions. Shares will trade on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “PRAX.”

Praxis Precision Medicines made its debut in early May with a mid-stage clinical pipeline of therapies for both prevalent and rare brain disorders with overlapping disease biology. The company leverages recent discoveries in the genetics of epilepsy, which have elucidated genes that when dysregulated, drive a range of neuropsychiatric and movement disorders. Using these insights, Praxis is rapidly advancing a pipeline of treatments that specifically address genes controlling the imbalance of excitation and inhibition of neuronal circuitry at the core of multiple CNS disorders.

The company’s lead drugs in development include PRAX-114, a GABAA positive allosteric modulator in phase 2 development for the treatment of major depressive disorder and perimenopausal depression; PRAX-944, a T-type calcium channel blocker in phase 2 development for the treatment of essential tremor; and PRAX-562, currently in phase 1 development for the treatment of genetic epilepsies including pediatric epilepsy and adult cephalgia.

Praxis Precision Medicine is the 21^st rare disease drug developer to go public in 2020, with two more in the queue. As a group, these companies have raised $3.9 billion to advance their development programs.