Upsized IPO of Biotech Company Intellia Prices at Top of Range

   By Josh Beckerman 
 

Intellia Therapeutics Inc., a biotechnology company working on "editing" defective genes, said its initial public offering of 6 million shares priced at $18 each.

The Cambridge, Mass., company filed confidential IPO paperwork in September and disclosed its plans in April. Last week, it estimated it would sell 5 million shares at $16 to $18 each.

Intellia is developing potential treatments for liver and blood diseases and cancer. It is one of the companies focused on a technology called Crispr-Cas9 that has raised hopes for future drugs that could home in on specific genes and remove them.

The company's shareholders include Novartis AG, which participated in a $15 million Series A financing round and a $70 million Series B round, and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., which recently signed a six-year licensing and collaboration agreement with Intellia. The deal called for a $75 million upfront payment to Intellia, and the purchase of $50 million of stock in a private placement at the same time as the IPO.

Intellia's venture-capital backers include Atlas Venture and Orbimed Advisors. Atlas and Caribou Biosciences launched the company in 2014.

Intellia will trade on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol NTLA.

Write to Josh Beckerman at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 05, 2016 20:43 ET (00:43 GMT)

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