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2021-02-07| IPO

Vor BioPharma Surpasses $1 Billion Valuation After IPO

by Daniel Ojeda
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On February 5th, Vor BioPharma, a cell therapy company focusing on developing therapies for Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), began trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol VOR. The company’s stock more than doubled from the IPO price by the time the first trade was made. The increase in the stock price led the company to surpass $1 billion in valuation.

One of the reasons that targeted therapies fail in clinical trials is due to on-target toxicity. Most treatments are developed to target a protein that is over-expressed in cancer cells. However, non-cancerous cells also express proteins these proteins. When the therapy binds to these proteins, it causes toxicity. This is one of the limiting factors for dosing and for using specific treatments. New and creative approaches are needed to surpass these limitations.

 

Vor’s Approach and Pipeline

While some companies focus on discovering a new target that is only expressed on cancer cells, Vor BioPharma has designed a new approach. They genetically modify hemopoietic stem cells to remove the target protein from these cells. They then transplant the cells into a patient. These healthy cells are now immune to the therapy, which would eliminate on-target toxicity.

Vor is currently focused on developing treatments for AML, a type of blood cancer. In 2020, there were almost 20,000 cases of AML and over 11,000 deaths in the US. Their lead program, VOR33, was cleared by FDA in January of this year. VOR33 consists of engineered cells lacking a protein called CD33, and it is set to being Phase1/2a clinical trials this year. The trial has three main goals:

  • Determine if the modified hematopoietic stem cells can engraft normally in patients with AML
  • Determine if the treatment is well tolerated
  • Patients with successful engraftment will be treated with an FDA-approved drug, Mylotarg, that can lead to immunosuppression. The trial will determine if the VOR33 cells are immune to the side effects.

“Though advances have been made in the treatment of AML and other myeloid malignancies, the median overall five-year survival rate for patients diagnosed with AML remains under 30 percent,” said Christopher Slapak, MD, Vor’s Chief Medical Officer.

“With the development of VOR33, we are seeking to change the treatment paradigm for AML and potentially other hematologic malignancies. We engineered VOR33 to provide patients with a hematopoietic stem cell transplant that we believe, upon hematopoietic reconstitution, will be treatment-resistant to CD33 targeted therapies, potentially resulting in new treatment options and improved post-transplant outcomes.”

 

Doubling Stock Price

The initial public offering price for Vor’s stock was set at $18 per share, and 9.8 million shares were offered to raise $176.9 million. However, by the time the first trade was made, the price was up by 133.44%. At the end of the day, VOR closed at $35.05, an incredible 108.33% above IPO price. As a result, Vor BioPharma reached a valuation of $1.35 billion. The IPO was managed jointly by Goldman Sachs and Co. LLC, Evercore ISI, Barclays, and Stifel.

Related Article: Sana Biotechnology Makes Wall Street Debut with $587.5 Million IPO

References

  1. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/02/05/2170590/0/en/Vor-Biopharma-Announces-Pricing-of-Initial-Public-Offering.html
  2. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/vor-biopharmas-stock-more-than-doubles-out-of-the-gate-2021-02-05
  3. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/acute-myeloid-leukemia/about/key-statistics.html

 

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