Cell remedy first reached sufferers as therapies for most cancers. Artiva Biotherapeutics is a part of a rising group of corporations working to carry cell remedy to autoimmune illness, and its IPO has raised $167 million for medical trial plans.
Artiva priced the IPO at $12 per share, which was under the $14 to $16 per share value vary the biotech set in preliminary phrases final week. Nonetheless, it boosted the deal measurement by growing the variety of shares within the providing. The 8.7 million shares it initially deliberate to supply would have raised $130.5 million on the proposed pricing midpoint. The corporate was in a position to increase extra by promoting 13.92 million shares.
The shares of San Diego-based Artiva shares debuted on the Nasdaq Friday beneath the inventory image “ARTV.” However these shares had been flat, closing their first day of buying and selling on the IPO value.
The primary most cancers cell therapies had been autologous, created from a affected person’s personal T cells in a prolonged and costly multi-step course of. Artiva works with a distinct sort of immune cell referred to as a pure killer cell, or NK cell. The Artiva therapies are allogeneic, created from donor cells in a course of that the corporate says is price efficient and scalable. Reasonably than sourcing NK cells from wholesome donors like some NK cell remedy builders, Artiva’s cells come from wire blood. After manufacturing, these cell therapies are saved frozen, able to ship to a affected person’s therapy location when wanted.
Lead Artiva program AlloNK is in Part 1/1b testing in sufferers with systemic lupus erythematosus, the commonest type of lupus. Some lupus sufferers additionally develop lupus nephritis. Artiva’s open-label trial is enrolling lupus sufferers who’ve this kidney situation in addition to those that don’t. Examine members are receiving the research drug together with both Rituxan or Gazya. Each are FDA-approved antibody medication that deplete B cells, a kind of immune cell related to many autoimmune situations, together with lupus.
AlloNK can also be being examined for treating a spread of further immunology problems in an investigator-initiated medical trial. This analysis is continuing as a basket research, medical analysis that evaluates how a remedy works towards a number of ailments that share a standard attribute. Ailments coated within the basket trial embrace rheumatoid arthritis, pemphigus vulgaris, and two subtypes of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody-associated vasculitis.
Within the IPO submitting, Artiva says it believes AlloNK is the primary allogeneic NK cell remedy candidate to obtain the FDA inexperienced mild for a medical trial in addition to first to obtain the company’s quick observe designation in an autoimmune illness. The corporate additionally claims to be first to carry a cell remedy into an autoimmune illness basket trial.
“We imagine as we proceed to execute on our strategic plan that these important first mover benefits will solidify our management in a number of autoimmune ailments with excessive unmet want,” the corporate stated within the submitting.
Artiva plans to use $55 million of the IPO proceeds towards the Part 1/1b check of AlloNK in lupus, in line with the prospectus. The IPO money can even fund the basket research. Artiva stated within the submitting it expects preliminary information from both research within the first half of 2025.
Different corporations are additional alongside in medical improvement of cell therapies for autoimmune ailments, albeit with therapies created from totally different immune cells. Earlier this yr, Kyverna Therapeutics’ IPO raised $319 million for early- and mid-stage medical checks of its CAR T-therapies in systemic sclerosis, a number of sclerosis, and myasthenia gravis, amongst different autoimmune situations. Different corporations are creating autoimmune illness cell therapies primarily based on a kind of immune cell referred to as a regulatory T cell, or Treg.
Artiva was based in 2019, spun out of GC Lab Cell Company (now generally known as GC Cell), a South Korea-based cell remedy developer. Artiva holds rights, outdoors of Asia, to GC Cell’s NK cell manufacturing know-how and applications, together with lead program AlloNK. In 2020, Artiva launched with $78 million in Collection A financing. Previous to the IPO, Artiva stated it had raised $222.4 million since its inception. GC Cell’s guardian firm, GC Corp., is Artiva’s largest shareholder with a 13.5% post-IPO stake, in line with the submitting. 5AM Ventures, venBio, and RA Capital Administration every personal 8.1% of the corporate after the IPO. The corporate reported a money place of $62.1 million on the finish of the primary quarter of this yr.
The IPO is Artiva’s second strive at going public. The corporate first submitted a registration assertion in 2021, when the biotech IPO market was nonetheless scorching. At the moment, the NK cell remedy firm was centered on most cancers. A most cancers analysis collaboration struck with Merck in 2021 paid the biotech $30 million up entrance. The pharma large terminated the deal final fall.
When Artiva withdrew its IPO submitting in late 2022, the IPO market had cooled off significantly. However by then, the corporate had begun one other most cancers partnership with Affimed in Hodgkin lymphoma. This collaboration is testing AlloNK together with Affimed’s acimtamig, an NK cell engager. Affimed is funding this medical analysis, which is at the moment in Part 2 testing.
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