Three years after launching to commercialise stem cell research from Harvard University, Sana has filed for an initial public offering.
Sana Biotechnology, a US-based stem cell medicines developer exploiting Harvard University research, has filed for a $150m initial public offering on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.
The company had confidentially filed in November 2020 and is yet to set any pricing terms. Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and BofA Securities have been hired as joint bookrunnning managers.
Founded in 2018, Sana Biotechnology is working on hypoimmune stem cells that are able to hide from the patient’s immune system, facilitating cell therapies that do not trigger an immune system response.
Sana announced over $700m in funding in June 2020 but provided a more detailed breakdown in its draft prospectus which showed it initially secured $1.1m in convertible note financing from Arch Venture Partners and F-Prime Capital, a branch of financial services group Fidelity, in September 2018.
It then obtained $45.9m in series A-1 capital in October 2018, including the conversion of the aforementioned $1.1m, from Arch, F-Prime, chief executive Steve Harr, chairman Hans Bishop and general counsel James MacDonald.
Sana went on to raise just over $216m in series A-2 funding in February 2019, before adding $7.9m to that deal in October 2019, from Arch, Flagship Pioneering, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP), F-Prime, as well as Harr and Bishop.
In June 2020, Sana received more than $435m in series B financing from Arch, CPP, F-Prime, Harr and MacDonald.
It additionally named GV, a unit of conglomerate Alphabet, as well as Baillie Gifford, Alaska Permanent Fund, the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, Bezos Expeditions, Omega Funds and Altitude Life Science Ventures in its June 2020 announcement.
GV is listed as an investor in Sana’s filing but the corporate’s precise involvement has not been disclosed. Sana additionally revealed Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Investment Authority as a shareholder without providing further details.
Sana Biotechnology’s acquisitions include Oscine Therapeutics, a US-based brain disease drug developer spun out of University of Rochester Medical Center, for $8.5m in September 2020, though the deal was only announced two months later.
Proceeds from the IPO will fund the development of Sana’s in-vivo and ex-vivo cell engineering platforms, as well as preclinical trials for all candidates for each platform. The money will also support manufacturing capabilities and R&D activities.
Arch Venture Partners currently holds a 27.5% stake in Sana, followed by Flagship (21.4%), CPP (5.8%) and F-Prime (5.1%).
