IPO Scribe: Shares in a biotech company backed by Eli Lilly and Sanofi are now available

Pre-market trading in shares of Scribe Therapeutics, a company that develops DNA-based treatments for heart disease, has begun on the Freedom client trading platform. The company, backed by Nobel laureate Jennifer Dowdna and pharmaceutical giants Eli Lilly and Sanofi, will use the proceeds to fund clinical trials of its drugs. Later on July 24, Scribe Therapeutics shares will be listed on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol SCTX.

Scribe Therapeutics raised $128.7 million through its IPO. The company sold 8.58 million shares—more than originally planned—at $15 per share, which is at the upper end of its previously announced price range. Based on the results of the offering, the company’s total valuation can be estimated at $264 million, according to Bloomberg.

The offering was underwritten by Leerink Partners, Goldman Sachs, Guggenheim Securities, and Wells Fargo Securities.

Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly is a shareholder in Scribe. It has also expressed interest in increasing its stake during the IPO. In addition to Lilly, the company’s investors include entities affiliated with the venture capital fund Andreessen Horowitz and the Avoro Life Sciences Fund.

In conjunction with the public offering, the French pharmaceutical company Sanofi acquired $7.5 million worth of Scribe Therapeutics shares through a private placement, according to Bloomberg.

A California-based company, whose founders include Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Dowden, is exploring the potential of gene editing to treat cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, particularly atherosclerotic conditions. This technology makes it possible to alter the DNA of a living organism.

Scribe’s flagship product is STX-1150. It can “silence” certain genes without altering DNA, explains Seeking Alpha. In studies on primates, it has been shown to reduce cholesterol levels by more than 50%. Scribe expects to present initial data from trials in Australia involving adult patients in the first half of 2027, according to Bloomberg.

For the first quarter ended March 31, Scribe Therapeutics’ revenue from partnership agreements with major pharmaceutical companies fell by 87.1% to $2.2 million compared with the same period a year earlier. The net loss rose 397.1% to $17.4 million, according to a prospectus filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. As a result, investors will have to weigh the company’s financial performance against the potential of its gene-editing programs, notes Guru Focus.

Most of the proceeds from the IPO will go toward human trials of STX-1150. In addition, the funds will be used to launch trials of two other drugs for atherosclerosis, as well as to develop new gene-editing technologies.

Scribe has joined the growing list of biotech companies that have gone public on the Nasdaq this year. The warm reception these IPOs have received from investors has already led to record-breaking offerings by Kailera Therapeutics and Parabilis Medicines, Fierce Biotech notes.

Scribe Therapeutics boasts a top-notch founding team as well as strong support from major investors; nevertheless, the company faces significant clinical and regulatory risks, says Donovan Jones, an expert at the research firm IPO Edge, in a commentary on Seeking Alpha.

The significant need for capital and the uneven revenue from affiliate programs underscore the importance of a successful stock valuation at the time of an IPO and ongoing investor support to advance promising developments, the analyst adds.

According to estimates by Freedom Finance analyst Alem Bektemirov, Scribe’s stock has 14% upside potential at the current offering price. He cited the potential rejection of the drug and intense market competition as key risks for the company. If the trial results are weak, this could significantly impact the stock’s value in the future.

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Freedom clients will be able to trade Scribe Therapeutics shares before the main trading session opens. Trading will begin in the early pre-market session 2–3 hours before the U.S. markets open (from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Astana time). To participate, click on the SCTX ticker.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor