A biotech company that aims to treat skin diseases has told the SEC that it wants to go public.
Azitra joins a relatively small group of biotechs that have been targeting an IPO in recent quarters, with only a handful going public recently, including two on consecutive Fridays this month.
The biotech’s lead program is ATR-12, with a Phase Ib scheduled to begin in the first half of this year for Netherton syndrome, a rare autosomal disease characterized by inflammation, scaling, and red and dehydrated skin, caused by mutations in the SPINK5 gene. The company says there are approximately 20,000 patients with the disease worldwide and sees a peak sales opportunity of $250 million. The study is expected to be read out in the first half of next year. The FDA has given it pediatric rare disease status.
Further in the pipeline are ATR-04 for EGFR inhibitor-associated rash (phase Ib, first half of next year) and ATR-01 for ichthyosis vulgaris (IND application late 2024). An early-stage study testing ATR-04 in cancer therapy-associated rashes was suspended in 2021, according to a 2021 update to the clinical trials database. A 2019 study tested it as a cosmetic.
Founded in 2014, the Connecticut-based biotech company assembled a library of 1,500 bacterial strains to search for therapeutic properties.
At the helm of the company is Francisco Salva, co-founder of Acerta Pharma, which was sold to AstraZeneca in 2016 for around $6 billion. He also worked for a brief two years from 2008 to 2010 as senior director of corporate development at rival BTK inhibitor maker Pharmacyclics. Before joining Azitra in 2021, he was chief executive of fibrotic and inflammatory disease biotech company Complexa, which according to the description a former employee “went broke” on LinkedIn in 2020.
Partners include Carnegie Mellon University, Yale, the Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine and Fred Hutch. Azitra is also working with Bayer on a consumer health program for over-the-counter cosmetic products. Big Pharma’s VC arm has also invested $8 million in the company’s Series B preferred stock.
At the end of last year, Azitra had working capital of $1.9 million and total assets of $7.2 million, according to the S1 filing. KdT Ventures, Connecticut Innovations, Bios Partners, Godfrey Capital and Peter Thiel’s Breakout Labs funded the biotech. With the proceeds from the proposed offering, Azitra could operate for another 12 months. The biotech has 10 employees and full-time consultants, according to SEC filings.
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