Vitae Pharma Prepares for Secondary Offering

By Chris Lange Published Mar 24, 10:45AM EDT

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Vitae Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: VTAE) filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a secondary offering. No pricing details were given in the filing, other than the fact that the offering is valued up to $40 million.

The underwriters for the offering are Piper Jaffray and BMO Capital Markets.

This clinical stage biotechnology company is focused on discovering and developing novel, small molecule drugs for diseases that have significant unmet medical needs. It is developing a robust and growing portfolio of novel product candidates generated by Contour, a proprietary structure-based drug discovery platform.

Vitae’s most advanced wholly owned product candidate is VTP-43742 for the treatment of psoriasis, as well as multiple other autoimmune disorders. In 2015, the company completed two Phase 1 clinical trials with VTP-43742 and in March 2016 announced positive top-line and biomarker results from a Phase 2a proof-of-concept clinical trial in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis.
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VTP-38543, the second product candidate, is in a Phase 2a proof-of-concept clinical trial for the treatment of atopic dermatitis, with trial results expected in the second half of 2016. Vitae also has a product candidate, VTP-36951, for the treatment and prevention of Alzheimer’s disease, which was previously being developed by Boehringer Ingelheim, pursuant to a research collaboration and license agreement.

The company plans to make a decision on the development of VTP-36951 in the first half of 2016. Vitae intends to advance and retain rights to its current and future product candidates that it believes can be developed and commercialized and to strategically partner where doing so can accelerate a program and generate non-dilutive capital.

In terms of the net proceeds, the company intends to use them to advance the clinical development of Vitae’s RORγt program, including, among other items, the completion of a 16-week Phase 2b clinical trial of VTP-43742 in psoriasis patients, to advance the clinical development of Vitae’s LXRβ program, including, among other items, the completion of the ongoing Phase 2a proof-of-concept clinical trial of VTP-38543 in atopic dermatitis patients, and the remainder to fund working capital and for other general corporate purposes.

Shares of Vitae were down 7.3% at $6.24 on Thursday, with a consensus analyst price target of $17.75 and a 52-week trading range of $4.08 to $18.71.

About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.