AnaptysBio is riding Wall Street momentum, reporting its highest share price in almost five years after a $100 million offering that brought Sanofi aboard.
The immunology-focused biotech courted the larger pharma on the new offering announced Wednesday, which was led by EcoR1 Capital and included Cormorant Asset Management and Farallon Capital Management, among others. The company said Sanofi did not receive rights to any programs as part of its equity investment.
A spokesperson for Sanofi did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to a Leerink Partners investment note this morning, Sanofi’s corporate arm approached AnaptysBio for an investment “at a premium for common equity; there are no strings attached (no right of first negotiation, no right of first refusal). This type of strategic investment is uncommon.”
The proceeds will primarily be used to advance AnaptysBio’s mid to late-stage pipeline, including Phase 3 studies for BTLA agonist ANB032 and PD-1 agonist rosnilimab. Both are currently advancing through mid-stage studies.
AnaptysBio’s shares $ANAB rose more than 13% on the news, catapulting them to $37.87 per share, the highest mark since November 2019. The news complements what’s been a head-turning year so far, with shares up 73% since the start of 2024.
Cash reserves were relatively sturdy prior to the offering, with AnaptysBio reporting $393.5 million as of the end of June, enough to last through 2026. The company didn’t say how much the new capital extends that runway.
More is still to come before the end of the year, namely new data from ANB032 in patients with atopic dermatitis, expected in December. AnaptysBio also maintains that it will find an out-licensing partner for legacy asset imsidolimab before the end of the year. The asset has completed two Phase 3 studies in patients with generalized pustular psoriasis (GPP), and the company plans to present data at a medical meeting later this year, it said during its latest earnings.
The asset had previously failed in other indications, prompting the out-licensing plans, but was subsequently successful in the GPP population, according to an October 2023 release. AnaptysBio said then that it planned to still submit an approval application to the FDA in the third quarter but reconsidered, saying in May that the biologics license application would be “contingent on an out-licensing transaction.”
Editor’s note: This story was updated to correct that rosnilimab is a PD-1 agonist, not a PD-L1 antagonist.