Scribe Therapeutics hit the public market running. The biotech is exploring gene-editing for heart and metabolic conditions, and its shares jumped 44% on its first trading day.
Scribe initially marketed 7.15 million shares at a price range of $13 to $15 each, but ended up selling 8.58 million shares. It priced the shares at $15, the top of that range. That brought in a total of $128.7 million.
Eli Lilly, an existing investor in Scribe, expressed intent to purchase additional shares in the IPO, aiming to hold up to an 11% stake post-offering and after a related private placement. Sanofi SA affiliates committed to buying roughly $7.5 million worth of shares at the IPO price via that private placement.
Leerink Partners, Goldman Sachs, Guggenheim Securities, and Wells Fargo acted as underwriters for the IPO.
By market close, Scribe shares were at $21.65, resulting in a market capitalization of roughly $381.3 million as per the share count in its regulatory documents.
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Scribe Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotech working on gene therapies for heart conditions, specifically targeting atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD).
Scribe's approach to gene editing modifies DNA in a temporary way to change protein production, as explained by Nobel laureate and co-founder Jennifer Doudna.
"We think this is going to be an effective way to prevent cardiovascular disease in the future that will be so safe that you can provide it much more broadly," Doudna told Bloomberg Television.
Scribe expects to make its first clinical results public sometime during the first six months of 2027.
Scribe is not profitable yet. In the quarter ending March 31, Scribe had a net loss of $17.4 million and collaboration revenue of $2.2 million. The same quarter a year prior saw a net loss of $3.5 million and collaboration revenue of $17.1 million.
Funds from the public offering will be used to advance its clinical programs. The strong demand for Scribe's IPO, reflected in the upsize and pricing at the high end, suggests investor enthusiasm for gene-editing approaches in chronic diseases.
Existing backers like Eli Lilly, which intends to hold up to an 11% stake, and Sanofi's commitment to purchase $7.5 million in shares via a private placement further signal industry interest. Scribe's strategy of using temporary DNA modifications to alter protein production aims to deliver a safer, more broadly applicable preventive treatment for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
Among Scribe's largest investors, besides Eli Lilly, are firms connected to Andreessen Horowitz and the Avoro Life Sciences Fund.
Scribe's stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Market with the ticker SCTX.
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