CareDx, Pfenex set IPO terms

Molecular diagnostics company CareDx Inc. (Brisbane, Calif.) and biosimilar play Pfenex Inc. (San Diego, Calif.) both set IPO terms on Monday. CareDx (formerly XDX Inc.) plans to sell 3.1 million shares at $15-$17 in an IPO on NASDAQ underwritten by Piper Jaffray; Leerink; Raymond James; and Mizuho Securities. At the $16 midpoint, CareDx would raise $50 million and be valued at $168.1 million. The company filed to raise up to $50 million in the offering last month. CareDx markets its AlloMap Molecular Expression Test -- a non-invasive multi-gene expression profiling blood diagnostic -- in the U.S. and EU as an aid in identifying heart transplant recipients with stable allograft function who have a low probability of moderate/severe acute cellular rejection. The company had 2013 revenues of $22.1 million.

Pfenex plans to sell 5 million shares at $12-$14 in an IPO on NYSE underwritten by William Blair; JMP Securities; and Mizuho Securities. At the $13 midpoint, Pfenex would raise $65 million and be valued at $198.2 million. The company filed to raise up to $74.8 million in the offering last month. Pfenex's PF582 -- a biosimilar of ophthalmic drug Lucentis ranibizumab -- is in a Phase Ib/IIa trial for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), with Phase III testing slated to start in mid-2015. ...