Obesity-focused Aardvark Therapeutics is heading to the Nasdaq this morning in an IPO that matched the low end of its expectations.
The company’s 5.9 million shares will be offered at $16 apiece, at the lower side of the $16 to $18 range it set out last week. It means the IPO should bring in gross proceeds of $94.2 million, compared to net proceeds of $88.9 million suggested a week ago.
Aadvark, which will list on the Nasdaq under the ticker “AARD” Feb. 13, will have the opportunity to bring in roughly $14.1 million in additional funds should underwriters fully take up their 30-day option to buy a further 883,200 shares at the same price.
The biotech’s pipeline is headed up by ARD-101, a bitter taste receptor (TAS2R) pan-agonist designed to stimulate enteroendocrine cells of the digestive tract. The aim is to release gut-peptide hormones such as GLP-1—the function of which is a focus of Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly’s blockbuster weight loss drugs—and the satiety hormone cholecystokinin, thereby activating gut-brain neurologic signaling to reduce feelings of hunger.
ARD-101 has already shown an ability to suppress appetite when used alone or in combination with Novo and Lilly’s approved drugs, according to previous comments by Aardvark.
The biotech has evaluated ARD-101 in a trio of phase 2 studies, including a trial in 20 patients with general obesity that showed individuals who received ARD-101 experienced a 2.51-fold greater reduction in hunger rating compared to placebo. Meanwhile, a study in 12 patients with a rare genetic condition called Prader-Willi syndrome, which makes them feel constantly hungry, showed that 11 of these patients experienced a reduction in severe hunger in 28 days.
There are also plans to begin a phase 2 study in severe hunger and obesity linked to the treatment of a type of brain tumor called craniopharyngioma.
When it unveiled in January an ambition to go public, Aardvark said it expected to use the proceeds to “advance the clinical development of ARD-101” as well as to continue work on another clinical-stage obesity asset called ARD-201, which is a fixed-dose combination of ARD-101 and a DPP-4 inhibitor.
Aadvark’s leadership may be hoping for a similar market reception to Metsera, a fellow obesity-focused biotech. Metsera, which has a GLP-1 therapy in the clinic, went public with a share price of $18 on Jan. 31 and has since seen its stock rise 76% to $31.65 as of close of trading Wednesday.