Mirna Therapeutics has filed an amended S-1 form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its initial public offering (IPO). Some 4.65 million shares are being offered, with an overallotment option for 697,000 shares, within an expected price range of $13 to $15. At the maximum price, the total offering would be valued up to $80.2 million. The company intends to list on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol MIRN.

The underwriters for the offering are Citigroup, Leerink Partners, Oppenheimer and Cantor Fitzgerald.

This is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a broad pipeline of microRNA-based oncology therapeutics. MicroRNAs are naturally occurring, short ribonucleic acid, or RNA, molecules, or oligonucleotides, that play a critical role in regulating key biological pathways. Mis-expression of even a single microRNA can contribute to disease development, and tumor suppressor microRNAs are commonly reduced in cancer.

Mirna’s scientists and others at leading academic institutions have identified numerous tumor suppressor microRNAs that play key roles in preventing normal cells from becoming cancerous and facilitating proper cancer immunosurveillance. To enable therapeutic application of these tumor suppressor microRNAs, the company pioneered technologies for creating RNA molecules that function as natural microRNAs when they enter human cells. It is now developing mimics of these naturally occurring microRNAs that are designed to restore this tumor suppressor activity and aid appropriate tumor immune response. This approach is known as microRNA replacement therapy.

In the filing, Mirna detailed:

We believe that microRNA mimics represent a new paradigm in cancer therapy and have the potential to create a new, important class of effective cancer drugs, that can potentially be used alone or in combination with other cancer therapeutics. Our lead product candidate, MRX34, a mimic of naturally occurring microRNA-34 (miR-34) encapsulated in a liposomal nanoparticle formulation, is the first microRNA mimic to enter clinical development and has demonstrated clinical proof of concept as a single agent in our ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial. miR-34 is one of the most widely published microRNAs and is considered a key regulator of multiple oncogenes across multiple oncogenic pathways. We plan to develop MRX34 as a monotherapy and in combination with other therapeutic modalities, such as targeted therapies and immuno-oncology agents.

The company intends to use the proceeds from the offering to fund and develop its pipeline, as well as for working capital and general corporate purposes.

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