State-backed ALX Oncology lines up a $100m IPO

ALX Oncology, a Dublin and California-headquartered biotechnology company in which the State has a stake, has filed for a $100 million (€89 million)initial public offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq.

The move comes just over four months after the clinical-stage immuno-oncology company raised $105 million in a Series C funding round in what was the largest single Irish deal recorded since 2018.

ALX said it plans to list on the Nasdaq under the symbol “ALXO”.

Founded in 2015 as Alexo Therapeutics, ALX is focused on helping patients fight cancer by developing cancer therapies.

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Its lead candidate, ALX148, which works on the basis of blocking cancer cells spreading via a protein called CD47, is currently in a Phase 1b trial.

AXL booked revenues of $4 million for the 12 months to the end of March.

Minority interest

The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) has a minority interest in the company through its partnership with Lightstone Ventures.

Lightstone, which has also backed Irish medtech companies Carrick Therapeutics and Foundry Innovation & Research 1 (Fire1), partnered with the ISIF's predecessor, the National Pensions Reserve Fund to invest in early-stage start-ups in 2014.