Aiming Antibodies at Coronaviruses, Adagio Targets $318 Million IPO

 Waltham, Mass.-based Adagio Therapeutics set the terms for its initial public offering, hoping to raise up to $318.6 million. It is offering 17.7 million shares with an expected price between $16 and $18 per share. It will trade on the Nasdaq under the ADGI ticker symbol.

The company’s focus is on developing antibody-based therapies for infectious diseases with pandemic potential. On July 26, it inked a partnership with Biocon Biologics. Under the deal, Adagio will provide Biocon with supplies and expertise to manufacture and commercialize an antibody treatment based on its lead product candidate, ADG20, in India and other specific emerging markets.

ADG20 is a potent, long-acting, broadly neutralizing antibody that can be used to both treat and prevent COVID-19. It can be used as a monotherapy or in combination with other treatments. In non-clinical studies, it has been shown to neutralize SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, including variants of concern, in addition to a variety of other SARS-like viruses.

The antibody is currently being studied in two separate Phase II/III clinical trials. The STAMP trial is evaluating the antibody in non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The EVADE trial is looking at it for the prevention of COVID-19.

“This partnership underscores the commitment of two companies to come together in order to make a significant impact on global health,” said Tillman Gerngross, co-founder and chief executive officer of Adagio. “At Adagio, we spent a lot of time engineering a highly differentiated molecule in our global fight against COVID-19, and, from the beginning, our metric of success was focused on how many lives we can touch. We expect this partnership to rank very highly on the ‘lives touched’ scale, which was the driver behind pursuing this agreement. Importantly, Biocon’s extensive manufacturing capabilities will enable large-scale production, making this potentially life-saving drug broadly available to millions of people who otherwise would not have access to this type of therapy.”

Biocon will pick up the rights to manufacture and market the treatment in India and other select emerging markets based on a commercial process developed for the antibody. They will have access to data from Adagio’s two trials and access to the Emergency Use Authorization package it is preparing in addition to regulatory submissions in order to look for approval or emergency authorization in India and other markets. No financial details were disclosed.

In April, Adagio completed a $336 million Series C financing. The round was led by RA Capital Management. Participating new investors included Redmile Group, Federated Hermes, Foresite Capital, ArrowMark Partners, PremjiInvest, and another leading healthcare investor. Existing investors also participated, including Fidelity Management & Research Company, OrbiMed, Polaris Partners, Mithril, GV, Population Health Partners, Adimab and Omega Funds.

That money is being used to advance ADG20.

The company was founded in 2020 by Gerngross and Laura Walker. In November 2020, it completed a Series B round worth $80 million, and in July 2020, a Series A worth $50 million.

“The COVID-19 pandemic continues to be a major health crisis worldwide, and even with emergency use authorizations for vaccines and antibody-based therapies, there remains a significant need for medications to treat and prevent COVID-19 infection,” Gerngross said in an April statement. “We are advancing ADG20 through a rapid development strategy based on preclinical data that demonstrate its best-in-class potential for treating all known variants of COVID-19 today.”

https://www.biospace.com/article/adagio-ipo-to-raise-318-6-million/