Newly Launched Centessa Pharmaceuticals Plans $100M Debut On NASDAQ

Just two months after Centessa Pharmaceuticals launched after the merger of 10 private biotech companies, the company has filed a $100 million IPO for listing on NASDAQ.
Founded by Medicxi, Centessa in February raised a $250 million Series A round of funding.
The Centessa portfolio consists of four clinical-stage programs, including two in late-stage clinical development and more than ten additional programs.
Centessa’s most advanced candidate is lixivaptan, under development from one of the combined companies, Palladio Biosciences.
Lixivaptan is an oral non-peptide, a new chemical agent that works by selectively suppressing the activity of the hormone vasopressin at the V2 receptor being developed for autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease.
The company has two Phase 2 candidates in its pipeline. SerpinPC for hemophilia A and B works as a specific inhibitor of the anticoagulant protease-activated protein C (APC).
Imgatuzumab, a humanized, non-fucosylated, anti-EGFR monoclonal antibody, treats cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma other solid tumor indications.
Another Centessa subsidiary, Orexia Therapeutics, is developing oral and intranasal orexin receptor agonists to treat narcolepsy type 1.
Centessa filed to sell American Deposit Shares on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “CNTA.”