Vera Therapeutics Announces Closing of Upsized Public Offering and Full Exercise of Underwriters’ Option to Purchase Additional Shares in Public Offering of Class A Common Stock
Vera Therapeutics, Inc. has successfully closed its underwritten public offering of 9,274,194 shares of its Class A common stock, raising approximately $287.5 million. J.P. Morgan, TD Cowen, and Evercore ISI acted as joint book-running managers for the offering, with LifeSci Capital as the lead manager. The offering was made pursuant to a shelf registration statement on Form S-3, including a base prospectus, that was previously filed with the SEC. The press release emphasizes the final prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus relating to the offering, which are available for free on the SEC’s website.
The completion of Vera Therapeutics' underwritten public offering, yielding approximately $287.5 million in gross proceeds, is a significant capital infusion for the company. This substantial increase in capital is expected to bolster the company's financial stability and provide the necessary resources to advance its clinical programs. The full exercise of the underwriters' option to purchase additional shares indicates robust investor confidence in Vera's potential.
From a financial perspective, the offering price of $31.00 per share will have immediate implications on the company's market capitalization and shareholder equity. It's essential to evaluate this offering price against the current trading levels and historical performance to understand the investor sentiment and the potential dilution effects on existing shareholders. The involvement of prominent financial institutions as book-running managers and lead manager suggests a well-received offering, likely due to a favorable assessment of Vera's growth prospects and pipeline strength.
The biotechnology sector is highly competitive and capital-intensive. The successful capital raise by Vera Therapeutics is a testament to the market's interest in innovative treatments for immunologic diseases. By examining industry trends, one can infer that the company might allocate these funds towards advancing its late-stage clinical trials, scaling up manufacturing capabilities, or preparing for potential commercialization.
Moreover, the timing of the capital raise and its size could be indicative of Vera's strategic positioning within the immunology space. It's critical to assess the competitive landscape, including the progress of similar treatments developed by competitors, to gauge Vera's potential market share and revenue growth upon successful product launches. The market's reaction to this news will provide insights into investor expectations regarding Vera's future performance.
The funds acquired through this public offering are poised to accelerate Vera Therapeutics' research and development efforts. Given the company's focus on serious immunologic diseases, the additional capital may expedite the progress of clinical trials, which are both time-consuming and costly. The outcome of these trials could have profound implications on patient care and treatment options in the immunology field.
Understanding the clinical pipeline's current status, the therapeutic areas targeted and the unmet medical needs within these areas will provide context to the significance of the capital raised. The investment community often scrutinizes the potential of a biotech company's pipeline and the successful funding round could be a reflection of confidence in Vera's scientific approach and the viability of its candidates.
02/01/2024 - 04:05 PM
BRISBANE, Calif., Feb. 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (“Vera”), a late clinical-stage biotechnology company developing and commercializing transformative treatments for patients with serious immunologic diseases, today announced the closing of its previously announced underwritten public offering of 9,274,194 shares of its Class A common stock, including the exercise in full by the underwriters of their option to purchase an additional 1,209,677 shares, at a price to the public of $31.00 per share. The gross proceeds to Vera from the offering, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses, are approximately $287.5 million .
J.P. Morgan, TD Cowen and Evercore ISI acted as joint book-running managers for the offering. LifeSci Capital acted as lead manager for the offering.
The offering was made pursuant to a shelf registration statement on Form S-3, including a base prospectus, that was previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and was declared effective by the SEC on June 13, 2022, as well as a related registration statement on Form S-3MEF. A preliminary prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus relating to the offering were filed with the SEC and are available for free on the SEC’s website located at http://www.sec.gov. A final prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus relating to the offering were filed with the SEC and are available for free on the SEC’s website located at http://www.sec.gov. Copies of the final prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to the offering may be obtained from: J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Attention: Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, or by telephone at (866) 803-9204, or by email at prospectus-eq_fi@jpmchase.com; Cowen and Company, LLC, 599 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022, by email at Prospectus_ECM@cowen.com or by telephone at (833) 297-2926; or Evercore Group L.L.C., Attention: Equity Capital Markets, 55 East 52nd Street, 35th Floor, New York, NY 10055, or by telephone at 888-474-0200, or by email at ecm.prospectus@evercore.com.
This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.
About Vera
Vera is a late clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing treatments for serious immunological diseases. Vera’s mission is to advance treatments that target the source of immunologic diseases in order to change the standard of care for patients. Vera’s lead product candidate is atacicept, a fusion protein self-administered as a subcutaneous injection once weekly that blocks both B-cell activating factor (BAFF) and A proliferation-inducing ligand (APRIL), which stimulate B cells and plasma cells to produce autoantibodies contributing to certain autoimmune diseases, including IgAN, also known as Berger’s disease, and lupus nephritis. In addition, Vera is evaluating additional diseases where the reduction of autoantibodies by atacicept may prove medically useful. Vera is also developing MAU868, a monoclonal antibody designed to neutralize infection with BK virus (BKV), a polyomavirus that can have devastating consequences in certain settings including kidney transplantation. Vera retains all global developmental and commercial rights to atacicept and MAU868.
Investor Contact :jallaire@lifesciadvisors.com
Media Contact :mpurpura@lifesciadvisors.com
Vera Therapeutics, Inc. offered 9,274,194 shares of its Class A common stock in the public offering.
The price per share in the public offering was $31.00.
The gross proceeds to Vera from the offering, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses, are approximately $287.5 million.
J.P. Morgan, TD Cowen, and Evercore ISI acted as joint book-running managers for the offering.
LifeSci Capital acted as the lead manager for the offering.
The offering was made pursuant to a shelf registration statement on Form S-3, including a base prospectus, that was previously filed with the SEC.
