September 10, 2023 / eMedClub News /--According to informed sources,Gene Editing Biotechnology CompanyMetagenomiIs preparing to go public on Nasdaq this fall,And is currently collaborating with the investment bank JPMorgan. IfMetagenomiUpon listing, it will become one of only a dozen biotechnology companies this year.IPOOne of,But it is currently unclear how much funding the company is seeking, as the documents have not yet been made public.
It is reported that Metagenomi, Inc. was founded in 2018 by Brian Thomas and Jillian Banfield, metagenomics researchers at the University of California, Berkeley. Metagenomi is a gene editing company committed to developing potential therapeutic treatments by leveraging a proprietary toolbox of next-generation gene editing systems to accurately edit DNA where existing technologies fall short. The fundamental strategy of its gene editing discovery and development system is to start with vast amounts of metagenomic data, use advanced AI-based cloud computing to discover natural nucleases from nature, and then engineer them to create gene editing therapies. According to founder Brian Thomas, the nucleases they have exhibit superior gene editing efficiency compared to the existing CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system.Editing efficiency exceeds 90%, and some even exceed 95%.▲ Metagenomi's Technology
At this year's ASGCT conference, Metagenomi presented data on several nucleases it has developed. Among them, the novel Type V nuclease MG29-1 demonstrated high efficiency in editing primary human cells in the lab, reaching 75% in hepatocytes and approximately 70% across the entire liver. It also showed high editing efficiency in mice and non-human primates.Since its inception, this company has entered its "highlight moments". So far, it has received financial backing from over 30 investment groups and pharmaceutical companies, including prominent institutions such as Leaps by Bayer, Novo Holdings, RA Capital, Moderna, Bristol-Myers Squibb, SymBiosis, and Catalio Capital Management.Metagenomi's last financing was in January this year, when the company announced the completion of a $100 million Series B extension financing, bringing the total Series B financing to $275 million. This amount is already top-tier in the gene editing field, surpassing Prime Medicine, founded by David Liu. According to reports, the proceeds will aim to advance clinical pipelines, expand its gene-editing product portfolio, and initiate its first non-human primate study.
Nasdaq IPOs Expected to Rebound, but Threshold Remains Unchanged
Previously, according to Jordan Saxe, Head of Nasdaq Healthcare Listings: "There are currently about 50 biopharmaceutical companies in the backlog for Nasdaq IPOs, but only a portion of these companies will go public. The percentage of companies that will actually go public in the next 18 to 24 months is approximately 25% to 30%, which is roughly the average range over the past decade." In other words, Nasdaq pharmaceutical IPOs are expected to recover, but the number of companies currently queued for listing has not decreased, so the threshold for going public will not be lowered.Kevin Eisele, Managing Director and Co-Head of Chicago Healthcare Equity Capital Markets, said that in 2020 and 2021, entrepreneurs only needed a zip code and an idea to secure funding, but now, some entrepreneurs struggle to obtain capital even with good ideas. Another industry expert commented, "When the IPO market reopens, it will start with these A+ premium companies. Banks want to lead investors to participate in the most sought-after deals, and as the market gradually begins to accept new stock offerings, you will see more companies that may not fit the current market."Although Metagenomi has developed several highly efficient nucleases and multiple pipelines covering hemophilia, cystic fibrosis, as well as cardiovascular, oncology, and metabolic diseases, the company still hasn't advanced any pipeline into clinical trials. Despite the absence of clinical-stage pipelines, the company stands out among many biopharmaceutical enterprises. The fundamental reason lies in the fact that its technology and preclinical research offer better prospects.Metagenomi, Inc. aims to harness the power of metagenomics to explore 4 billion years of microbial evolution, providing the largest and most diverse gene-editing toolbox for drug development. Even if product development fails, the company's highly efficient gene-editing nucleases can still be licensed or sold to generate revenue. The company’s technology has also attracted attention from well-known industry players, including Moderna and Ionis Pharmaceuticals.In November 2021, Moderna announced a collaboration with Metagenomi, which will combine Metagenomi's novel CRISPR gene-editing tools and leverage Moderna’s advanced mRNA platform and lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery technology to develop curative therapies for patients with serious genetic disorders. Moderna stated that this collaboration aims to create new gene-editing tools to provide better resources for scientific research and clinical treatment.In addition, in November 2022, Ionis Pharmaceuticals, a well-known company in the small nucleic acid drug industry, reached a cooperation agreement with Metagenomi worth nearly 3 billion US dollars. It is reported that this cooperation is divided into two parts. The first part includes four gene targets, and Ionis will pay an advance payment of 80 million US dollars, of which two targets will be jointly developed with Metagenomi. When the first of these four targets in the first part is submitted for clinical trials, Ionis will sign a cooperation agreement with Metagenomi for the second part of four targets, with an advance payment of 120 million US dollars. The potential transaction amount for all eight targets is close to 3 billion US dollars.Therefore, the ability to successfully go public (IPO) might be closely related to these two collaborations, which also confirmMetagenomi, Inc. The unique potential of nucleic acids based on metagenomics. Currently, apart fromMetagenomi，Gene-editing companies founded by industry leaders like Zhang Feng and Liu Ruping have secured substantial financing in the capital markets. Despite the industry's downturn, investors are still willing to invest significant funds, which fully demonstrates the potential of gene-editing technology.1https://endpts.com/scoop-metagenomi-is-preparing-for-a-fall-ipo-and-is-working-with-jp-morgan/2.https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/ySoI2xOrQ3CpLN8Mi6J-vA (MedMic)Statement and Copyright Notice
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