Healthcare IPOs For Oct 16

(RTTNews) - The number of healthcare firms that have gone public on the U.S. stock exchanges so far this month is 9.

Let's take a look at the IPOs scheduled for tomorrow.

1.Tarsus Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Irvine, California-based Tarsus Pharma is a late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutic candidates for ophthalmic conditions.

Founded in 2017, the company is scheduled to list its IPO on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol "TARS" on October 16, 2020.

Tarsus Pharma has offered to sell 5 million shares of common stock in the offering, and the underwriters have an option for 30 days to purchase up to 750 thousand additional shares.

The initial public offering price is expected to be between $15.00 and $17.00 per share.

Underwriters of the IPO:

BofA Securities, LifeSci Capital, Jefferies, Ladenburg Thalmann, and Raymond James

Pipeline & Near-term Catalysts:

The lead product candidate is TP-03, a novel therapeutic, in phase IIb/III trial, dubbed Saturn-1, for the treatment of blepharitis caused by the infestation of Demodex mites, which is referred to as Demodex blepharitis. A phase III trial of the compound for the same indication, dubbed Saturn-2, is expected to be initiated next year.

TP-04, a potential treatment of rosacea, for which a phase I/II trial outside the United States is expected to be initiated in 2021.

TP-05, a potential treatment for Lyme prophylaxis and community malaria reduction. An IND seeking FDA clearance to initiate a phase I/II trial of TP-05 for Lyme disease is anticipated to be submitted in 2021. For malaria, the company plans to conduct a phase I/II trial outside of the United States.

2. Opthea Limited

Opthea Limited, which trades on the Australian Securities Exchange, is slated to list its American Depositary Shares on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker symbol "OPT" on October 16, 2020.

The company has offered to sell 9.3 million American depositary shares at a price of US$17.26 each. The underwriters have an option for a period of 30 days to purchase up to an additional 1.395 million ADSs.

Founded in 1984, Melbourne, Australia-based Opthea is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a novel therapy for the treatment of retinal diseases.

Underwriters of the IPO:

Citigroup, SVB Leerink, Oppenheimer & Co., and Truist Securities.

Pipeline & Near-term Catalysts:

-- The lead biologic is a phase III-ready product candidate OPT-302 for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration.

A pivotal phase III trial of OPT-302 in combination with Lucentis for the treatment of wet AMD, dubbed ShORe trial, and another phase III trial of OPT-302 in combination with Eylea for the treatment of wet AMD, dubbed COAST trial, are expected to be initiated in the first half of 2021. The data from these trials are anticipated in 2023.

-- The company is also planning to explore the potential of co-formulated OPT-302 for the treatment of wet AMD. An investigative new drug application for the co-formulated product is expected to be filed in the second half of 2021.

-- OPT-302 in combination Eylea, under a phase Ib/IIa trial in patients with treatment-refractory diabetic macular edema Full data from the phase IIa part of the trial, including final outcomes at Week 24, are expected in the second half of this year.

3. Aligos Therapeutics

South San Francisco, California-based Aligos Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics for viral and liver diseases.

Founded in 2018, the company is scheduled to make its debut on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol "ALGS" on October 16, 2020.

Aligos Therapeutics has offered to sell 10.0 million shares of common stock in the offering, and the underwriters have an option for 30 days to purchase up to 1.5 million additional shares. The initial public offering price is expected to be between $14.00 and $16.00 per share.

Underwriters of the IPO:

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Jefferies LLC, Piper Sandler & Co., Cantor Fitzgerald & Co

Pipeline:

The most advanced drug candidate is ALG-010133, a S-antigen Transport-inhibiting Oligonucleotide Polymer (STOP) which is currently being evaluated in a phase 1a/b trial in New Zealand in patients with chronic hepatitis B. The topline results for certain trial cohorts are expected to be reported beginning in the second half of 2021.

The other nonclinical and discovery-stage compounds include:

ALG-000184, a small molecule that stimulates capsid assembly modulators (CAM's), also for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B. This compound is expected to advance into a phase I clinical trial in the fourth quarter of 2020.

ALG-020572, an antisense oligonucleotide, for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B that is expected to advance into clinical trials in the second half of 2021.

ALG-125097, an siRNA drug candidate, for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B, under nonclinical studies.

ALG-055009, a small molecule THR-b agonist, currently in nonclinical studies for the treatment of NASH.

4. Eargo Inc.

San Jose, California-based Eargo is a hearing aid manufacturer that markets and sells its products directly to consumers.

The company is scheduled to go public on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol "EAR" on October 16, 2020.

Eargo has offered to sell 6.67 million shares of common stock in the offering, and the underwriters have an option for 30 days to purchase up to 1.0 million additional shares. The initial public offering price is expected to be between $14.00 and $16.00 per share.

Underwriters of the IPO:

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, BofA Securities, Inc., Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, William Blair & Company, L.L.C.

Financial Numbers:

The company generates revenue from orders processed primarily through its website and over the phone by its sales consultants.

For the six months ended June 30, 2020, the company's net loss narrowed to $18.33 million or $67.04 per share from $18.98 million or $76.21 per share in the same period last year.

Total revenues for the period rose to $28.59 million from $14.45 million in the year-ago period.

5. Praxis Precision Medicines

Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Praxis Precision Medicines is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapies for broad psychiatric-related and rare diseases of the central nervous system, or CNS, disorders characterized by neuronal imbalances.

Praxis Precision Medicines is scheduled to list its stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, under the symbol "PRAX", on October 16, 2020.

The company has offered to sell 7.4 million shares in the offering - with the initial public offering price expected to be between $16.00 and $18.00 per share. The underwriters have a 30-day option period to purchase up to 1.11 million additional shares.

Underwriters of the IPO:

Cowen and Company, LLC, Evercore Group L.L.C., Piper Sandler & Co., Wedbush Securities Inc., Blackstone Securities Partners L.P.

Pipeline:

--The company's lead candidate is PRAX-114, which is in phase II development for the treatment of major depressive disorder, or MDD, and perimenopausal depression, as both a monotherapy and adjunctive therapy for both the acute and maintenance setting in the U.S. and Australia.

-- Up next is PRAX-944, currently in phase IIa proof-of-concept open-label trial in Essential Tremor, or ET patients.

--The company's most advanced rare disease candidate is PRAX-562 for the treatment of adult cephalgia and for rare pediatric Development and Epileptic Encephalopathies, or DEEs. A phase I trial of this compound in adult healthy volunteers in Australia is underway.

-- In addition, there is one preclinical program PRAX-222 and one disclosed discovery program in development for severe genetic epilepsies.

Near-term Catalysts:

--A phase II/III trial for PRAX-114 for the treatment of MDD is expected to be initiated in the United States and Australia in the fourth quarter of 2020, with topline data anticipated in the second half of 2021.

-- Top line data from phase IIa trial for PRAX-114 in Australia for the treatment of PMD is expected in the second half of 2021.

--Top line data from phase IIa trial for PRAX-944 for patients with ET is expected in the first half of 2021.

-- Topline safety data from Phase I single ascending dose, or SAD, trial of PRAX-562 in adult healthy volunteers in Australia is expected in the fourth quarter of 2020.

6. Kiromic Biopharma

Houston, Texas-based Kiromic Biopharma is a target discovery and gene-editing company utilizing artificial intelligence for developing immuno-oncology therapies for the treatment of solid tumors and blood cancers. The proprietary target discovery platform used to identify new cancer immunological targets for T cells and B cells is known as "Diamond."

The company is scheduled to list its common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol "KRBP" on October 16, 2020.

Kiromic Biopharma has offered to sell 1.15 million shares in the offering. The initial public offering price is expected to be between $12.00 and $14.00 per share.

The company has granted the underwriters an option for 45 days to purchase up to 173 thousand additional shares.

Pipeline & Near-term Catalysts:

--ALEXIS Iso Mesothelin, an allogenic CAR cell product candidate, which is under preclinical testing, for stage III to stage IV platinum resistant epithelial ovarian cancer. An IND seeking FDA clearance for a phase I trial of this compound in epithelial ovarian cancer is expected to be submitted this quarter.

--ALEXIS Iso Mesothelin MPM, an allogenic effector cell product candidate, under preclinical testing for malignant pleural mesothelioma. An IND for a phase I trial of this compound is expected to be submitted to the FDA in 2021.

--ALEXIS AIDT-1, an allogenic CAR cell product candidate targeting AIDT-1, which is currently undergoing pre-IND studies, for relapsed hematologic malignancies. The submission of IND, seeking FDA clearance for a phase I trial in diffuse large B cell lymphoma is scheduled for 2022.