Immunotherapy company Argos Therapeutics has filed for an initial public stock offering that could raise up to $86.2 million.
The Durham, North Carolina-based company has a developed a personalized medicine platform technology whose first target is kidney cancer. CEO Jeff Abbey explained the technology in a MedCity News story that ran in May. The venture capital-backed company has been preparing to take its technology into late-stage clinical trials, which could require more than $50 million – either from another round of venture investment or by tapping the public markets. The company now believes market conditions are right for an IPO.
Lazard Capital Markets LLC and Canaccord Genuity Inc. are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering. Needham & Company, LLC and BMO Capital Markets Corp. are acting as co-managers.
Argos’ immunotherapy technology, called Arcelis, induces a patient’s own immune system to fight disease. Besides applications in treating cancer, Argos is also researching Arcelis as a way to fight HIV.
Argos was founded in 1998 as Merix Bioscience, a company based on RNA technology licensed from Duke University. The company has raised more than $80 million in venture capital from The Aurora Funds, Forbion Capital Partners, Genechem, Intersouth Partners, Lumira Capital and TVM Capital.
