April 13 Quick Takes: Acelyrin to test public markets

In a season with few biotech IPOs, Acelyrin Inc. will test the market’s appetite for an immunology start-up with clinical data. The company filed late Thursday for a listing on NASDAQ, proposing to raise more cash on top of the $550 million in committed capital it has raised since its 2020 inception; its prospectus said it has drawn $400 million so far, with the remainder due from its tranched series C. Acelyrin’s lead program is izokibep, a small, injectable protein that inhibits IL-17A and is one tenth the size of a mAb; it has reached Phase III testing in hidradenitis suppurativa, axial spondyloarthritis and uveitis. Acelyrin’s top shareholders include the AyurMaya affiliate of Matrix Capital Management, Westlake Village BioPartners, Opaleye, OrbiMed Advisors and Citadel.

Torl BioTherapeutics LLC launched with a $158 million series B financing to advance antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and mAbs discovered in the laboratory of scientific co-founder and University of California Los Angeles oncologist Dennis Slamon. The company, which will be led by co-founder and CEO David Licata and Executive Chair Mark Alles, has two ADCs in the clinic, one targeting CLDN6, the other CLDN18.2. Goldman Sachs Asset Management led the financing, with participation from UC Investments, Bristol Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE:BMY), Deep Track Capital, Vertex Ventures HC, Moore Strategic Ventures, Cowen Healthcare Investments, Perceptive Xontogeny Venture Fund, and existing investors including Alexandria Venture Investments and OCV Partners...