Sana Raises $588 Million in IPO to Advance Engineered Cell Therapies

Rare Daily Staff

Sana Biotechnology, which made a splash in June 2020 when it emerged with $700 million in venture financing and a focus on creating and delivering engineered cells as medicines, is making another splash as its completes the largest initial public offering of a preclinical biotech company and putting its market capitalization at $4.9 billion.

Sana priced an upsized initial public offering of 23.5 million shares of its common stock at $25.00 per share, well above its initial target range of $20 to $23 a share. Sana’s will begin trading on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “SANA.” In addition, Sana has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 3.5 million shares of common stock at the initial public offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions, and, if exercised in full, would result in aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $675.6 million.

The company’s vision is to repair and control genes, replace missing or damaged cells, and make its therapies broadly available to patients. Founded two years ago by ex-Juno executives Steve Harr and Hans Bishop, Sana has more than 250 people and operations in Seattle, Cambridge, and South San Francisco.

Sana’s preclinical pipeline is broad, covering a range of both in vivo and ex vivo treatments targeting rare and more common indications in oncology, hematology, metabolic, and neurology. Targets include multiple myeloma, acute and chronic lymphocytic leukemia, liver-related genetic disorders, hemoglobinopathies, type 1 diabetes, Huntington’s disease, and heart failure, among others. Sana expects to file its first INDs in 2022 and 2023.