Trevi Therapeutics Launches $55 Million IPO to Advance Nalbuphine ER for Neurologically Mediated Disorders

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that biopharmaceutical company Trevi Therapeutics recently announced its initial public offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq Stock Market, under the ticker symbol TRVI. The company will issue 5.5 million shares of common stock at an offering price of $10 per share, aiming to raise $55 million.

Trevi Therapeutics granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 825,000 shares of common stock at the offering price. Additionally, funds affiliated with New Enterprise Associates agreed to purchase 1.5 million shares of the company’s common stock for $15 million in a private placement.

SVB Leerink, Stifel and BMO Capital Markets will serve as joint book-running managers and private placement agents for this offering. Needham & Company will act as lead manager and private placement agent for this offering.

Trevi Therapeutics, founded in 2011 and headquartered in New Haven, Connecticut, USA, is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing opioid-based therapies for the treatment of neurogenic disorders. Nalbuphine ER is the company’s lead candidate, indicated for the treatment of chronic pruritus and chronic cough in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), as well as levodopa-induced dyskinesia in patients with Parkinson’s disease. These conditions share a common pathophysiological mechanism, mediated by opioid receptors in both the central and peripheral nervous systems.

Nalbuphine ER is an oral formulation targeting kappa and mu opioid receptors. Studies have shown that kappa and mu opioid receptors are associated with conditions such as chronic pruritus, cough, and movement disorders in patients. The active ingredient of this drug is nalbuphine. Nalbuphine is an opioid agent and a mixed agonist-antagonist, acting as a kappa-opioid receptor agonist and a mu-opioid receptor antagonist. For decades, this drug has been marketed as an injectable for pain management. Currently, nalbuphine is the only non-controlled opioid medication in Europe and the United States.

According to Crunchbase, Trevi Therapeutics has completed seven rounds of financing since its inception, raising a total of approximately $108 million. In November 2014, the company closed a $26 million Series B financing round led by TPG Biotech. In July 2017, it completed a $30 million Series C financing round led by New Enterprise Associates.

Upon completion of the IPO financing, the proceeds will be used to advance the Phase 2b/3 clinical trial of nalbuphine ER, evaluating its safety and tolerability in patients with severe pruritus associated with prurigo nodularis. Preliminary study data are expected to be released in the first half of 2020. Prurigo nodularis is a rare disease characterized by the formation of skin nodules accompanied by intense itching.

(Compiled by Jiao Yanli)