Kodiak Sciences Files for IPO

Kodiak Sciences has filed an S-1 form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding its initial public offering (IPO). No pricing details were mentioned in the filing, although the offering is valued up to $100 million, but this number is usually just a placeholder. The company intends to list its shares on the Nasdaq under the symbol KOD.

The underwriters for the offering are Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Barclays and Chardan.

This is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company specializing in novel therapeutics to treat chronic, high-prevalence retinal diseases. Its most advanced product candidate is KSI-301, a biologic therapy built with its antibody biopolymer conjugate (ABC) platform, which is designed to maintain potent and effective drug levels in ocular tissues.

Management believes that KSI-301, if approved, has the potential to become an important anti-VEGF therapy in wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD), and diabetic retinopathy (DR). KSI-301 and the ABC Platform were developed at Kodiak, and the firm owns worldwide rights to those assets, including composition of matter patent protection for KSI-301.

Kodiak has applied its ABC Platform to develop additional product candidates beyond KSI-301, including KSI-501, its bispecific anti-IL-6/VEGF bioconjugate. Management intends to progress these and other product candidates to address high-prevalence ophthalmic diseases.

The company detailed its plans for the net proceeds in the filing as follows:

• To advance KSI-301 through enrollment of the Phase 2 clinical trial in the U.S., EU and rest of the world in patients with wet AMD and to expand the scope of our Phase 1 clinical trial for KSI-301 through completion of a Phase 1b clinical trial;
• To advance KSI-301 into Phase 2 clinical trials in China for wet AMD and DME/DR;
• To advance KSI-301 into the Phase 2 clinical trial in the U.S., EU and rest of the world in patients with DME/DR;
• Towards research and development of our pipeline including KSI-501, and to initiate additional clinical studies in ophthalmology; and
• The remainder for working capital and other general corporate purposes.

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