Gene Therapy Innovator Orchard Therapeutics Goes Public to Advance Rare Disease Pipeline

Recently, VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat) learned from foreign media reports that Orchard Therapeutics, an emerging gene therapy company, has announced its initial public offering (IPO), with an offer price of $14 per share. The stock began trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “ORTX” on October 31 local time. J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs, and Cowen served as the lead underwriters for this IPO, while Wedbush PacGrow acted as a co-underwriter. Prior to the IPO, Orchard’s main supporters included Baillie Gifford, ORI Capital, Temasek, and Cowen Healthcare.

Orchard Therapeutics, founded in 2015, is a gene therapy startup dedicated to transforming the lives of patients with severe and life-threatening rare diseases through innovative gene therapies. The company’s advanced ex vivo autologous gene therapy products primarily target severe and life-threatening rare diseases, primary immunodeficiencies, neurometabolic disorders, and hemoglobinopathies. In August this year, the company announced the completion of a $150 million Series C financing round.

Image from the Orchard Therapeutics official website

Orchard Therapeutics priced its initial public offering (IPO) at 14,285,715 American Depositary Shares (ADSs), representing 14,285,715 ordinary shares, at an initial public offering price of $14 per share. In addition, Orchard Therapeutics has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase an additional 2,142,857 ADSs at the IPO price, less underwriting discounts and commissions.

Orchard Therapeutics’ American Depositary Shares (ADSs) began trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on October 31, 2018, local time, under the ticker symbol ORTX. Each ADS is issued by Orchard Therapeutics. The gross proceeds from this offering are expected to amount to $200 million, before deducting underwriting discounts, commissions, and other offering expenses payable by Orchard Therapeutics. The offering is expected to close on November 2, 2018, subject to customary closing conditions.

Orchard Therapeutics conducted this offering solely by means of a prospectus. The registration statement relating to the ADSs sold in this offering was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and became effective on October 30, 2018.

Orchard Therapeutics, founded in September 2015, is a commercially integrated biopharmaceutical company dedicated to transforming the lives of patients with severe and life-threatening rare diseases through innovative gene therapies. The company’s ex vivo autologous gene therapy product, Strimvelis, was the first autologous ex vivo gene therapy approved by the European Medicines Agency for the treatment of adenosine deaminase severe combined immunodeficiency (ADA-SCID). It utilizes ex vivo gene modification of autologous hematopoietic stem cells to restore normal gene function. Orchard Therapeutics currently maintains offices in London, UK, as well as in San Francisco and Boston, US.