Verrica Pharmaceuticals Closes in on IPO

Verrica Pharmaceuticals has filed an amended S-1 form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding its initial public offering (IPO). The company expects to price its 5.0 million shares in the range of $14 to $16 a piece, with an overallotment option for an additional 750,000 shares. At the maximum price, the entire offering is valued up to $92.0 million. The company intends to list its shares on the Nasdaq under the symbol VRCA.

The underwriters for the offering are Merrill Lynch, Jefferies and Cowen.

This is a clinical-stage medical dermatology company focused on identifying, developing and commercializing innovative pharmaceutical products for the treatment of skin diseases with significant unmet needs.

Its lead product candidate, VP-102, is a proprietary drug-device combination of its novel topical solution of cantharidin, a widely recognized, naturally sourced agent to treat topical dermatological conditions, administered through a single-use precision applicator.

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Verrica is initially developing VP-102 for the treatment of molluscum contagiosum, a highly contagious and primarily pediatric viral skin disease, and common warts. There are currently no products approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) nor is there an established standard of care for either of these diseases, resulting in significant undertreated populations in two of the largest unmet needs in dermatology.

Additionally, the firm believes that VP-102 has the potential to be the first FDA-approved product for molluscum and for its active pharmaceutical ingredient to be characterized as a new chemical entity with the five years of non-patent regulatory exclusivity associated with that designation.

The company detailed its plans for the net proceeds from the offering:

• Approximately $61.0 million to complete our planned clinical trials, seek regulatory approval and fund the commercial launch, if approved, of VP-102 for the treatment of molluscum;
• Approximately $12.0 million to advance the clinical development of VP-102 for the treatment of common warts; and
• The remainder for working capital and other general corporate purposes, including to develop VP-103 and VP-102 for additional indications and to pursue our strategy to develop, in-license or acquire additional product candidates, although we have no agreements or commitments for any specific acquisitions or in-licenses as of the date of this prospectus.

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