Solid Biosciences Closes in on IPO With Updated Pricing

Solid Biosciences has filed an amended S-1 form with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding its initial public offering (IPO). The company intends to price its 7.0 million shares in the range of $18 to $19 per share, with an overallotment option for an additional 1.05 million shares. At the maximum price, the entire offering is valued up to $152.95 million. The company intends to list its shares on the Nasdaq under the symbol SLDB.

The underwriters for the offering are JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Leerink Partners, Nomura and Chardan.

Solid Biosciences has a mission to cure Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a genetic muscle-wasting disease predominantly affecting boys, with symptoms that usually manifest between three and five years of age. DMD is a progressive, irreversible and ultimately fatal disease that affects approximately one in every 3,500 to 5,000 live male births and has an estimated prevalence of 10,000 to 15,000 cases in the U.S. alone.

The firm’s lead product candidate, SGT-001, is a gene transfer under development to restore functional dystrophin protein expression in patients’ muscles. Based on its preclinical program that included multiple animal species of different phenotypes and genetic variations, management believes the mechanism of action of SGT-001, if its clinical trials prove to be successful, has the potential to slow or even halt the progression of DMD, regardless of the type of genetic mutation or stage of the disease.

[nativounit]

SGT-001 has been granted Rare Pediatric Disease Designation (RPDD) in the U.S. and Orphan Drug Designations in both the United States and European Union. The safety and efficacy of SGT-001 are currently being evaluated in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial.

The company intends to use the net proceeds from this offering, as well as its cash, cash equivalents and available-for-sale securities of $69 million, for:

• Approximately $130.0 million to fund research and development expenses, including to advance SGT-001 through preliminary results from Phase I/II clinical trial activities, which we initiated in the fourth quarter of 2017; and
• The remainder for general and administrative expenses and other general corporate purposes.

[wallst_email_signup]