NantKwest Inc. has filed an amended S-1 form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its initial public offering (IPO). The expected price range is $20 to $23 for 7 million shares, with an overallotment option for an additional 1.05 million shares. At the maximum price, the total offering is valued up to $185.15 million. The company plans to list on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol NK.
The underwriters for the offering are Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, Jefferies and Piper Jaffray.
This pioneering clinical-stage immunotherapy company is focused on harnessing the immune system by using the natural killer (NK) cell to treat cancer, infectious diseases and inflammatory diseases. NK cells are the body’s first line of defense due to their ability to rapidly seek and destroy abnormal cells, such as cancer or virally infected cells.
According to the company in the filing:
We believe that our proprietary NK cell line, coupled with our planned integrated discovery ecosystem, uniquely positions us to implement precision cancer medicine and potentially change the current paradigm of cancer care by leveraging the advances that have evolved during the past decade and addressing newly discovered challenges of cancer. We believe that many recent advances in cancer treatments have not adequately addressed the heterogeneity of tumor cells, the large mutation load per tumor cell identified by advanced genomics sequencing technologies, and the resistance of the cancer stem cell to chemotherapy.
The company plans to use the proceeds to support its aNK in its Phase 2 trial, Rituxan-haNK in its Phase 1/2 trials and CD33 taNK in its Phase 1/2 trials. The remainder of the proceeds are expected to establish a manufacturing facility and to continue research and development in other areas.
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