The French biotech Cellectis company has been floated following success with its chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies. The Paris-based organization has grossed more than $228 million in its initial public offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq. This value is $113 million more than the company initially filed for in February. This multi-million dollar valuation makes the company’s flotation the second largest IPO in relation to this form of technology. In its new IPO, Cellectis priced 5.5 million American shares at $41.50 each, with another 825,000 shares set away for the company’s underwriters.
The most valued company in the CAR-T field is Juno Therapeutics, which is worth $265 million when the IPO was issued in December 2014.
CAR T-cell therapies are a a developing field and they are set to become very lucrative. Dozens of organizations, including a several major pharmaceutical companies, are working to develop T cells armed with receptors that bind particular cancer-associated antigens, as part of cancer fighting therapy. In the last few years, hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of deals have been struck, and dozens of clinical trials initiated.
The focus of Cellectis is with allogeneic T cells. This is with the aim of making an off-the-shelf therapy that can be more widely used than autologous cells (cells derived from the same individual.) The company struck a deal in 2014 with Pfizer for $80 million up front, plus up to $185 million per product and royalties. The money will begin examining four CAR-T candidates through Phase 1 trials, manufacturing the therapies, and work outside of oncology.
