Turning Point Therapeutics Files for $167 Million IPO to Advance Novel Small Molecule Targeted Cancer Therapies

VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat) has learned that Turning Point Therapeutics, a clinical-stage oncology drug development company, recently announced its plan to conduct an initial public offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol TPTX. The company intends to offer 9.25 million shares of common stock to the public at a price of $18 per share. Before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and expenses payable, Turning Point Therapeutics is expected to raise approximately $166.5 million.

It is reported that Turning Point Therapeutics will use the proceeds from its IPO to advance its lead candidate, repotrectinib (TPX-0005), into Phase 2 clinical trials, and to move two other candidates—TPX-0046 (a RET inhibitor) and TPX-0022 (a dual CSF1R/MET inhibitor)—into early-stage clinical trials.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, SVB Leerink, and Wells Fargo Securities acted as joint book-running managers for this offering. Canaccord Genuity served as the lead manager for this offering.

Previously, Turning Point Therapeutics completed a $1.4 million angel round in 2014, an $18 million Series A financing in 2016, and a $45 million Series C financing in 2017. In October 2018, Turning Point Therapeutics closed an $80 million mezzanine financing round led by Foresite Capital and venBio Partners. The funds were designated to advance the development of its lead candidate, repotrectinib (TPX-0005).

Turning Point Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company founded in 2013, headquartered in California, United States, with approximately 50 full-time employees. Turning Point Therapeutics is dedicated to designing and developing novel small-molecule targeted oncology therapies to address key limitations of existing treatments and improve patients’ lives. Co-founder Dr. J. Jean Cui is the primary inventor of two precision anti-tumor drugs: crizotinib and lorlatinib. The company focuses on designing new chemical entities targeting cancer-driving genes associated with secondary resistance mutations, newly identified disease-driving targets, and potential targets that modulate the tumor microenvironment and tumor immunity.

The company’s leading investigational product, repotrectinib, is a ROS1/TRKs/ALK inhibitor with the potential to treat ROS1-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and NTRK-positive solid tumors. This novel drug was granted Orphan Drug Designation by the U.S. FDA in 2017 and is currently in clinical development under the TRIDENT-1 trial, with plans to enter Phase 2 clinical studies in the second half of the year. Turning Point Therapeutics’ kinase inhibitor binds to its targets more precisely and efficiently than existing therapies. Featuring a novel, compact structure, it is designed to overcome treatment resistance commonly associated with other kinase inhibitors.

(Compiled by: Wang Yue)