A biotechnology startup is poised to go public with a roughly $10 billion price tag a year before it begins human clinical trials for its drug candidates. That isn’t as crazy as it sounds.
Sana Biotechnology, which is developing cell-engineering platforms that it says could change the way many diseases are treated, plans to sell $150 million of stock in a coming initial public offering, the company said in a securities filing last week. While it is unknown how many shares it plans to sell, investors are expecting a valuation of between $9 billion and $12 billion.
The Sana IPO is arriving as biotech stocks are near records. A broad index of small and midsize biotech firms has rallied about 60% in the past year. And Sana won’t be delivering on its promises anytime soon: Clinical trials in humans for its drug candidates won’t begin until 2022.
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https://www.wsj.com/articles/biotechs-price-tag-is-crazy-but-not-insane-11610974801