Immune oncology biotechnology company Salspera (TKVA.US) plans to price its US IPO at $14 to $16 per share, raising $85 million.

The clinical-stage cancer biotechnology company Salspera (TKVA.US), dedicated to developing live biological drugs to stimulate immune responses, disclosed the terms of its initial public offering (IPO) on Monday. The company, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, plans to raise $85 million by issuing 5.7 million shares of stock (priced between $14 and $16 per share). Salspera aims to develop a new type of immunotherapy for treating solid tumors, which they have named "live biological drugs," biological agents that have been genetically modified to express specific anti-tumor factors in the tumor microenvironment. Their lead project, Saltikva, is a genetically modified and avirulent strain of Salmonella typhimurium that is non-toxic and can be ingested orally. Engineered to express the human interleukin-2 gene (Salmonella-IL2), Saltikva may help increase the number of NK cells and cytotoxic CD8+ T cells in the tumor microenvironment and peripheral blood. The company is currently focusing on pancreatic cancer and has completed a Phase II trial for advanced metastatic pancreatic cancer patients. Founded in 2017, Salspera plans to list on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol TKVA. Kingswood Capital Markets is serving as the exclusive bookrunner for the offering.