Sorrento Therapeutics Gears Up for Secondary Offering

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 12, 1:00PM EST · Published Apr 13, 11:30AM EDT

Follow 24/7 Wall St. on Google

This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

Sorrento Therapeutics Gears Up for Secondary Offering — © Thinkstock

[cnxvideo id=”625480″ placement=”ros”]Sorrento Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: SRNE) saw its shares plunge on Thursday after the company announced a secondary offering. The company has yet to disclose how many shares it plans to offer. The most recent closing price for stock was $2.95, but since then shares have dropped by nearly a third.

The underwriters for the offering are Cantor Fitzgerald, which is acting as the leading book-running manager, and FBR, which is acting as the joint running manager.

This is an antibody-centric, clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing new treatments for immuno-oncology, inflammation and autoimmune diseases. Sorrento’s lead product candidates include immunotherapies focused on the treatment of both solid tumors and hematological malignancies, as well as late stage pain products.

[nativounit]

The firm detailed its vision in the filing:

Our vision is to leverage these antibodies in conjunction with proprietary targeted delivery modalities to generate the next generation of cancer therapeutics. These modalities include proprietary antibody drug conjugates (“ADCs”), bispecific approaches, as well as T-Cell Receptor (“TCR”)-like antibodies. With LA Cell, Inc. (“LA Cell”), our joint venture with City of Hope, our objective is to become the global leader in the development of antibodies against intracellular targets such as STAT3, mutant KRAS, MYC, p53 and TAU. Additionally, we have acquired and are assessing the regulatory and strategic path forward for our portfolio of late stage biosimilar/biobetter antibodies based on Erbitux, Remicade®, Xolair®, and Simulect® as these may represent nearer term commercial opportunities.

With each of its programs, Sorrento is aiming to tailor its therapies to treat specific stages in the evolution of cancer, from elimination, to equilibrium and escape. Additionally, its objective is to focus on tumors that are resistant to current treatments and where it can design trials based on a genetic signature or biomarker to ensure patients have the best chance of a durable and significant response.

The company intends to use the net proceeds from this offering to further develop its pipeline, with the remainder going toward working capital and general corporate purposes.

Shares of Sorrento were trading down 33% at $1.98 on Thursday, with a consensus analyst price target of $13.00 and a 52-week trading range of $1.85 to $8.35.

[wallst_email_signup]

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.