University City biotech firm Cabaletta Bio Inc. goes public in $74.8M IPO

Clinical-stage biotech company Cabaletta Bio Inc. announced that it had raised $74.8 million in an initial public offering Friday.

The University City-based company sold 6.8 million shares of common stock at $11 per share, according to a company statement. The pricing is below its target price of $14 to $16 per share listed in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Philadelphia Business Journal reported.

Cabaletta, a University of Pennsylvania spinout, develops engineered T cell therapies for patients with B cell-mediated autoimmune diseases. The announcement marks the city’s first life sciences IPO of 2019.

On Monday, Cabaletta (NASDAQ: CABA) was trading around $10 a share. The company said it expects its net proceeds from the offering to be about $66.2 million.

The technology was developed at Penn and resulted in the first commercially available CAR T cell products for the treatment of B cell cancers. The company was founded in 2017 by Dr. Michael Milone and Dr. Aimee Payne, who serve as co-chairs of Cabaletta’s Scientific Advisory Board, the company said. Dr. Steven Nichtberger also cofounded, and now serves as Cabaletta’s CEO.

The news follows two area bio and health company IPOs from 2018, PBJ reports: West Chester-based Verrica Pharmaceuticals’ $86.25 million IPO last June, and Phase Bio’s $46 million IPO last October.

This year, University City-based Spark Therapeutics (NASDAQ: ONCE) was the focus of what will be the largest exit ever within city limits for a venture-backed company, once it’s complete, after going public in 2015.