Health and Healthcare

Axonics Announces Potential Pricing for IPO

Chris Lange

Published: October 22, 2018 10:05 am

Last Updated: January 11, 2020 4:04 pm

Axonics Modulation Technologies has filed an amended S-1 form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding its initial public offering. The company is offering 6.67 million shares in the range of $14 to $16 apiece, with an overallotment option for an additional 1.00 million shares. At the maximum value, the entire offering is valued up to $122.67 million. The company intends to list its shares on the Nasdaq under the symbol AXNX.

The underwriters for the offering are Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo and SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

This medical technology company is focused on the design, development and commercialization of innovative and minimally invasive sacral neuromodulation (SNM) solutions. SNM therapy is primarily used to treat patients with overactive bladder (OAB), fecal incontinence (FI), and urinary retention (UR).

The firm’s proprietary rechargeable SNM system (r-SNM System), delivers mild electrical pulses to the targeted sacral nerve in order to restore normal communication to and from the brain to reduce the symptoms of OAB, FI and UR. Management believes the proprietary r-SNM System offers significant advantages, including being the first and only rechargeable SNM system that is designed to be 60% smaller than existing technology and to last approximately 15 years.

Axonics currently has marketing approvals in Europe, Canada and Australia for OAB, FI and UR, and it expects to submit a premarket approval (PMA) application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for urinary urgency incontinence, a predominant OAB subtype, during the first quarter of 2019. Again Management believes its r-SNM System has the potential to disrupt and grow the approximately $605 million global SNM market in 2017, which is currently controlled by a single participant.

The company outlined its plans for the net proceeds in the filing:

• Approximately $30.0 million to hire sales and clinical support personnel, including a specialty sales force of approximately 60 sales representatives, which we will initially endeavor to hire in anticipation of our potentially receiving FDA approval, to support the commercial launch of our r-SNM System in the United States, and to fund marketing initiatives in United States, Europe and Canada;
• Approximately $25.0 million to conduct SNM-related research and development activities, consisting of expanding the suite of product solutions available for SNM therapy over time and to fund the technological enhancement of our r-SNM System, including, but not limited to, 1.5T/3.0T MRI full body conditional labelling for our r-SNM System, a reduction by half in the number of IPG battery recharging sessions required for the IPG to remain charged for one full month, and features that would enable us to connect our IPG to an already implanted InterStim II lead; and
• The remainder for working capital and general corporate purposes.