Axonics Completes $100 Million Public Offering of Common Stock Following FDA Approval of Its Sacral Neuromodulation System

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned from foreign media that on November 22, 2019, local time, medical device company Axonics Modulation Technologies (“Axonics,” Nasdaq: AXNX) announced the public offering of 5 million shares of common stock at an offering price of $22 per share. After deducting underwriting discounts and commissions as well as estimated offering expenses, the company’s net proceeds from this offering are expected to amount to $101 million.

The shares offered in this offering include 4.595 million shares issued by Axonics and 405,000 shares sold by shareholders of Axonics. BofA Securities and Barclays served as joint book-running managers and representatives of the underwriters for this offering, while Wells Fargo Securities acted as the lead manager. In addition, the underwriters have been granted a 30-day option to purchase up to 750,000 additional shares of common stock from Axonics on the same terms and conditions. Axonics stated that it will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares by the selling shareholders.

Axonics, founded in 2012 and headquartered in Irvine, California, USA, is a medical device company focused on the design, development, and commercialization of novel implantable neuromodulation technologies. The company went public on the NASDAQ stock market on October 31, 2018, raising $120 million in its initial public offering. Legend Capital has been a continuous investor, making investments in 2014, 2015, and 2017.

Axonics has developed a rechargeable sacral neuromodulation (r-SNM) system that helps restore bladder and bowel control through mild electrical pulses, primarily for the treatment of overactive bladder (OAB), fecal incontinence (FI), and urinary retention (UR).

The r-SNM has a volume of only 5 cc, significantly smaller than existing comparable devices currently on the market. Its mechanism of action involves the permanent implantation of an impulse generator (IPG) in the patient’s buttocks. The IPG delivers constant electrical stimulation to the patient’s nerves; the pulse waves propagate along the nerves to the pelvic muscles, thereby helping patients restore bowel control function.

Axonics stated that the wireless charging system of r-SNM allows for repeated external charging, requiring only one hour or less per week, while the implantable pulse generator (IPG) can operate continuously for up to 15 years. r-SNM received FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) marketing approval on September 6, 2019.

In previous clinical studies, 120 patients underwent a trial implantation of the r-SNM system in 2013. According to research data from the subsequent five years, 89% of patients experienced improvement in their condition, and 36% reported being able to control bowel and bladder movements. The mean weekly frequency of incontinence episodes among participating patients decreased from a baseline of 9.1 to 1.7.

Currently, Axonics has obtained marketing approvals for OAB, FI, and UR in Europe, Canada, and Australia, and received the EU CE Mark in June 2016.

(Compiled by He Li)