Second Arix investee plans US IPO
Arix Biosciences (ARIX), a LSE-listed life sciences VC investor, could potentially see two of its investee companies go public on the US stockmarkets in the coming weeks, after Iterum Therapeutics disclosed the filing of a Form S-1 registration statement with the US SEC. Iterium’s move comes after another Arix investee company, Autolus – which is also held by Syncona (SYNC) and Woodford Patient Capital Trust (WPCT) – disclosed plans to go public on Nasdaq, although it has yet to file its S-1 statement.
Iterum is an Irish company focussed on the development of anti-infectives. Its lead product candidate is sulopenem, an oral and IV antibiotic for the treatment of Gram-negative multi-drug resistant infections. Sulopenem was licensed from Pfizer in 2015. Iterum’s filing suggests it may seek to raise up to $92m, and the value of Arix’s 6.8% fully diluted shareholding, suggests a pre-money valuation of £83m. Last year, Arix led the company’s Series B financing that raised $65m and was intended to fund a Phase III programme comprising three trials for three specific indications: uncomplicated urinary tract infections (uUTI), complicated urinary tract infections (cUTI) and complicated intra-abdominal infections (cIAI). Iterum aims to complete the trials in early next year and file a registration dossier by year-end.
Both IPOs, if successful, have the potential to unlock hidden value. Arix Biosciences’ most important investments, as of 31 December, are shown in the table below.
| 31 Dec value (£m) | Fully Diluted Equity Interest (%) | Funding Committed, Not Yet Invested (£m) | Fully Diluted Equity Interest When Fully Committed (%) | Implied company value (£m) | |
| Autolus | 20.1 | 8.6% | – | 8.6% | 233.7 |
| Artios Pharma | 3.7 | 14.7% | 1.4 | 14.9% | 25.2 |
| Harpoon Therapeutics | 5.1 | 8.0% | 4.4 | 12.4% | 63.8 |
| Aura Biosciences | 2.5 | 4.9% | 1.3 | 6.6% | 51.0 |
| Iterum Therapeutics | 5.7 | 6.8% | 4.8 | 8.2% | 83.8 |
| Amplyx Pharmaceuticals | 2.8 | 2.8% | 1.9 | 3.8% | 100.0 |
| Atox Bio | 3 | 3.7% | 3.2 | 6.4% | 81.1 |
| LogicBio Therapeutics | 4.8 | 13.3% | 2.8 | 15.4% | 36.1 |
Second Arix investee plans US IPO