Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc, a UK-Based, clinical-stage company with an asset-centric business model for the discovery, development, and delivery of impactful medicines to patients, announced the pricing of its initial public offering (IPO) of 16,500,000 American Depositary Shares (ADS), with each representing a single share at a public offering price of USD 20.00 per ADS. The gross proceeds to Centessa are expected to cross USD 330 Mn before the deduction of underwritten discounts, commissions, and other estimated offering expenses. In addition, the underwriters are granted a 30-day purchase up the option to 2,475,000 additional ADSs at the IPO price. The offering is expected to be closed by June 2, 2021, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.
Centessa Pharmaceuticals’, following business models established by Roivant Sciences, BridgeBio, and PureTech Health, etc., is an asset-centric model that has benefits of scale and diversification, which are typical to large organizations, hence making it a highly specialized company with a singular focus. Led by a team of experts, Centessa wholly owns ten asset-centric companies that range from discovery to late-stage development and include diverse therapeutic areas like oncology, hematology, neuroscience, immunology/inflammation, hepatology, nephrology, and pulmonology. Centessa’s management team sets the companies’ overall strategy and direction while providing leadership and expertise and managing resource allocation and shared infrastructure.
The leading candidate is Centessa’s Subsidiary, Palladio Biosciences’ program lixivaptan, a minor molecule vasopressin receptor antagonist to treat autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). The molecule is ready for its Phase III clinical study, and USD 110 million of the proceeds from the IPO will be utilized to fund the study. The investment firm, Medixci founded Centessa and is its largest shareholder, owning a 19.9% post-IPO stake. The company unveiled a new Pharmaceutical Research and Development model in February as it launched a series A financing of USD 250 Mn. The present offering of USD 330Mn makes it the third-largest Biotech IPO of the year, as it is headed for a promising future with 16 programs underway, of which four are at clinical stages.