Cancer drug developer ArriVent BioPharma, has secured $175 million in IPO cash, ambarking on its journey as a public company. The firm’s lead program works on developing treatments for lung cancers distinguished by certain rare mutations. A definitive study is currently ongoing, with the newly acquired IPO cash set to continue the clinical development of the small molecule. Late Thursday, ArriVent priced its offering of more than 9.7 million shares at $18 each, introducing the ticker “AVBP” to the Nasdaq, following CG Oncology’s $380m debut on the exchange earlier this week.
Observers may start seeing a trend, as the growing IPO queue suggests a changing tide for public offerings. PitchBook’s recent report indicates that the positive economic signals of 2023 could provoke a surge in IPOs in the upcoming year. These signals include an increase in GDP, an unchanged Federal Reserve interest rate since last July, and a slowdown in inflation, in addition to a decrease in market volatility. According to PitchBook, “Assuming volatility remains tempered in 2024, this could act as a catalyst for new IPO filings”.
Conversely, in the last two years, the biotech IPO scene welcomed companies with at least some clinical data to reduce investor risk, a trend that became increasingly obvious from the few such IPOs last year. In these circumstances, ArriVent can confidently point to clinical data that reduces the risk for its leading drug candidate, furmonertinib. Furmonertinib is a type of cancer drug called tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI), designed to treat non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with EGFR mutations. The molecule is designed to treat rarer EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations, which are underserved by currently available therapy options.
Several other companies have aimed their efforts towards treating EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations. Takeda Pharmaceutical, for example, steered the pill Exkivity to a 2021 accelerated approval.
ArriVent argues that both Takeda and Johnson & Johnson’s products leave room for improvement. On one hand, those drugs don’t sufficiently infiltrate the brain, a key requirement for treating metastasized cancer. On the other hand, ArriVent strives to offer better safety and tolerability, claiming that furmonertinib, conceived as a once-daily pill, would be less burdensome to patients compared to the IV-infused Rybrevant.
Currently, ArriVent is testing furmonertinib in a global Phase 3 clinical trial as a first-line treatment for non-squamous locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC with the exon 20 insertion mutations. The results of these trials will be compared to those of pemetrexed, the current standard first-line treatment for these cancers. Preliminary data from this experiment are expected in 2025.
The rest of the ArriVent pipeline encompasses a preclinical antibody drug conjugate. The company stated in the filing that it expects to select a lead candidate for this program in late 2024 or early 2025. In the meantime, the IPO queue continues to grow, with companies such as Alto Neuroscience, Metagenomi Technologies, and Kyverna Therapeutics, lining up to make their debut.
Read the original MedCity News report here.