Atacicept

BRISBANE, Calif., Oct. 29, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (“Vera”), a late clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing transformative treatments for patients with serious immunologic diseases, today announced the pricing of an underwritten public offering of 7,142,858 shares of its Class A common stock at a price to the public of $42.00 per share. The gross proceeds to Vera from the offering, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses, are expected to be approximately $300.0 million. In addition, Vera has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 1,071,428 shares of Class A common stock at the public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions. The offering is expected to close on October 31, 2024, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Evercore ISI and Cantor are acting as joint book-running managers for the proposed offering. The proposed offering is being made pursuant to an automatic shelf registration statement on Form S-3, including a base prospectus, that was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on October 28, 2024 and became effective upon filing. A preliminary prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus relating to the proposed 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 proposed offering will be filed with the SEC and will be 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, when available from: J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, by email at prospectus-eq_fi@jpmchase.com and postsalemanualrequests@broadridge.com; Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department, 200 West Street, New York, NY 10282, or by telephone at (866) 471-2526, or by email at prospectus-ny@ny.email.gs.com; 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; or Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., Attention: Capital Markets, 110 East 59th St., 6th Floor, New York, NY 10022, or by email at prospectus@cantor.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 immunological 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 such as kidney transplant. Vera retains all global developmental and commercial rights to atacicept and MAU868. Forward-looking Statements Statements contained in this press release regarding Vera’s expectations regarding the offering are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based upon Vera’s current expectations and involve assumptions that may never materialize or may prove to be incorrect. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of various risks and uncertainties, which include, without limitation, Vera’s expectations regarding the completion of the offering. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date on which they were made and are based on management’s assumptions and estimates as of such date. Vera undertakes no obligation to update such statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made, except as required by law. Investor Contact: Joyce AllaireLifeSci Advisors212-915-2569jallaire@lifesciadvisors.com Media Contact: Madelin HawtinLifeSci CommunicationsMHawtin@lifescicomms.com

Plus, news about Astellas, Clover, ElevateBio, Monopar, Idorsia and Neurocrine Biosciences: Vera Therapeutics plans $300M offering: The California biotech is selling shares after presenting Phase 2b data for an experimental drug called atacicept over the weekend. The company shared 96-week data for patients with immunoglobulin A nephropathy. — Kyle LaHucik Abeona Therapeutics resubmits rare skin disease therapy: Back in April, the FDA rejected Abeona’s cell therapy, called pz-cel, requesting more information about manufacturing. Abeona is developing pz-cel for recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, a rare genetic skin disease. — Lei Lei Wu Astellas yanks Izervay’s submission in Europe: The company said it withdrew its marketing authorization application for Izervay, a C5 protein inhibitor for geographic atrophy secondary to age-related macular degeneration. Astellas did not detail feedback from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, but said it is still “confident” in Izervay’s risk-benefit profile and will continue to engage with regulators in Europe and elsewhere. There are currently no treatments approved for GA secondary to AMD outside of the US, where Izervay was greenlit in August of last year. — Ayisha Sharma Clover releases early RSV vaccine data: The Shanghai-based biotech said its bivalent vaccine candidate, SCB-1019, produced “comparable” levels of RSV neutralizing antibodies to GSK’s Arexvy at 28 days in a Phase 1 test. Based on these data, Clover plans to advance the asset into studies focused on re-vaccination next year. — Ayisha Sharma ElevateBio lays off 4%: The genetic medicines company, which employs about 500 people, is ending its preclinical cellular engineering work, a spokesperson told Endpoints News on Monday. The Waltham, MA-based biotech laid off about 13% of its staff in October 2023. It’s one of the most well-funded private biopharma startups after having raised about $1.25 billion, including its $401 million Series D last year. Partnerships with companies like Novo Nordisk, Moderna, Kyverna and Affini-T are unaffected, the spokesperson confirmed. — Kyle LaHucik Monopar Therapeutics prices $19.2M offering: The Chicago-area biotech sold shares to Janus Henderson, RA Capital and others. A few days ago, Monopar licensed a Wilson disease drug candidate from AstraZeneca’s Alexion. — Kyle LaHucik Idorsia ends work with Neurocrine Biosciences: The companies were developing Idorsia’s T-type calcium channel blocker for patients with a rare form of pediatric epilepsy. The treatment failed a Phase 2 study in 2022, and further analysis led to the decision to stop work. — Jaimy Lee