US auto safety agency upgrades probe into Tesla power steering loss

 U.S. safety regulators have upgraded their probe into Tesla vehicles over power steering loss to an engineering analysis - a required step before the agency could demand a potential recall.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on Friday said the investigation covers about 334,000 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles from the 2023 model year.

The agency's upgraded probe follows a December Reuters investigation that found tens of thousands of Tesla owners have experienced premature failures of suspension or steering parts over at least seven years, citing Tesla documents and interviews with customers and former employees.

Some drivers reported harrowing tales of sudden power steering outages at speeds that nearly caused accidents. The Tesla documents showed that the automaker sought to blame drivers for frequent failures of suspension and steering parts it has long known were defective.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the NHTSA's upgraded investigation.

The NHTSA, which had opened a preliminary evaluation in July into loss of steering control in 280,000 Tesla Model 3 and Y vehicles after 12 drivers reported problems, said it has now identified a total of 2,388 complaints. Some Tesla owners reported an inability to turn the steering wheel while others reported an increase in required effort.

The agency said it had linked one crash to the investigation in which a driver couldn't complete a right-hand turn at an intersection and struck a vehicle. Tesla and NHTSA jointly inspected the vehicle.

Some drivers told NHTSA that the steering issues continued until the power-steering rack was replaced. NHTSA said the probe will examine the conditions leading to and resulting from the steering rack failures.

It remained unclear exactly what parts might need recalling or replacing to prevent the steering outages. Tesla has addressed some other issues with remote software fixes. The automaker could face a much more expensive recall if NHTSA requires repairs or replacements of physical parts.

Tesla has had nine recalls in the United States for steering and suspension issues since 2018, NHTSA records show. Most affected a relatively small number of vehicles. The largest, in 2018, involved replacing steering-rack bolts on more than 70,000 Model S vehicles because of the risk that corrosion could cause a loss of power steering.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/1-tesla-recall-over-2-103819480.html

Alto, Fractyl Go Public in Back-to-Back Offerings as IPO Market Heats Up

 Joining the growing number of biotech initial public offerings this year are Alto Neuroscience and Fractyl Health, with both announcing respective plans to go public Friday morning.

Alto is putting a little more than 8 million shares of its common stock up for sale at $16 apiece, with plans to yield gross proceeds of $128.6 million, before taking out commissions, underwriting discounts and other offering fees. Underwriters also have 30 days to buy more than 1.2 million shares of Alto’s common stock at the initial public offering (IPO) price. The IPO is expected to close on Feb. 6.

Alto’s upsized IPO is higher than its previous target, which it revealed earlier this week to be $89 million to $103 million.

Alto will make its debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday under the ticker symbol ANRO.

The IPO proceeds will help the California-based biotech to fund the development of its lead asset ALTO-100, an oral small molecule inhibitor of BDNF, which is currently in a Phase II study for major depressive disorder. Alto will also use the earnings to advance its other depression asset ALTO-300, as well as the Phase I PDE4 asset ALTO-101, being trialed for neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric conditions.

William Blair, Stifel, TD Cowen and Jefferies acted as joint book-running managers for Alto’s IPO, while Baird is the lead manager.

Massachusetts-based Fractyl Health also announced its IPO plans, putting some more than 7.3 million shares of its common stock up for sale at $15 apiece. Fractyl is looking to secure gross proceeds of around $110 million, which could further increase if underwriters take their 30-day option to snap up nearly 1.1 million additional shares of Fractyl’s common stock.

Like Alto, Fractyl’s gross IPO haul exceeded its initial expectations, which earlier this week was set at $99 million. The company will debut on the Nasdaq Global Market on Friday, with the ticker symbol GUTS.

Fractyl’s lead product candidate Revita is an outpatient endoscopic procedural therapy that uses hydrothermal ablation to remodel the dysfunctional duodenal lining to restore metabolic health. Revita is in a pivotal study for insulin-treated type 2 diabetes, with data expected in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Its second investigational asset is Rejuva, an adeno-associated virus-delivered gene therapy to improve islet health in the pancreas. Rejuva is currently in preclinical development.

Evercore ISI, Morgan Stanley and BofA Securities are joint book-running managers for Fractyl’s IPO.

Alto and Fractyl follow in the footsteps of CG Oncology, which last week announced its upsized IPO of $380 million, and ArriVent Biopharma, which followed a day later with its own $175 million offering.

https://www.biospace.com/article/alto-fractyl-go-public-in-back-to-back-offerings-as-ipo-market-heats-up/