Electra Therapeutics has joined the public markets, raising $350 million in an upsized IPO to fund clinical research for a new class of medicines designed to selectively target immune cells responsible for excessive immune responses, according to Dealbreaker. The shares began trading on the Nasdaq on Friday under the stock symbol “ETRA,” and the company finished its first day at $13.25 per share, down nearly 12% from the $15 IPO price, according to Dealbreaker.
IPO pricing and first-day trading
Electra had set preliminary IPO terms of more than 21.6 million shares in the range of $14 to $16 each, according to Dealbreaker. Electra boosted the deal size to more than 23.3 million shares priced at $15 apiece, raising $350 million, according to Dealbreaker. Electra finished its first day as a public company at $13.25 per share, down nearly 12% from the IPO price, according to Dealbreaker.
Precision immunology focus and lead program
Electra is developing medicines designed to selectively target certain immune cells responsible for excessive immune responses, with research focused on signal regulatory proteins (SIRPs), a family of receptors expressed on specific types of immune cells, according to Dealbreaker. Electra said SIRPs play a role in keeping immune responses in balance and that their expression can increase as immune cells become activated, making them a target for immunology drugs, according to Dealbreaker.
Electra’s lead drug candidate is ipsoprubart, an antibody designed to selectively bind to SIRP-expressing cells and deplete them, according to Dealbreaker. The company describes ipsoprubart as intended to target SIRP-expressing myeloid cells and T cells, which Electra identifies as the main drivers of cytokine storm in hyperinflammatory conditions, according to Dealbreaker. Ipsoprubart is described as a pan-SIRP-targeting antibody whose lead indication is secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (sHLH), a disorder in which an excessive immune response can spark life-threatening multi-organ failure, according to Dealbreaker.
Electra said sHLH can be triggered by cancer, immunotherapy, or an infection and that standard treatment includes corticosteroids that broadly suppress the immune system, according to Dealbreaker. Dealbreaker reported that Sobi’s antibody drug Gamifant has FDA approval for primary HLH and macrophage activation syndrome in Still’s disease, but that decision does not specifically encompass sHLH.
In Phase 1b testing in patients with malignancy-associated HLH, which Electra describes as the largest subset of sHLH patients, the company reported 100% overall survival and a 100% overall response rate measured at eight weeks, and said the study drug was generally well tolerated, according to Dealbreaker. The program has advanced to a Phase 2/3 study in newly diagnosed, treatment-naïve sHLH patients, with study participants compared to the natural history of sHLH patients, and trial enrollment is expected to be complete in the second half of 2027, according to Dealbreaker.
Pipeline, corporate history, and capitalization
Electra is based in South San Francisco and said targeting SIRPs may have additional applications for treating cancer, according to Dealbreaker. A Phase 1 study is underway evaluating ipsoprubart in T cell and natural killer cell malignancies, with preliminary data expected in the second half of next year, according to Dealbreaker. Electra’s next program is ELA822, an antibody designed to selectively deplete activated T cells expressing SIRP gamma, with Phase 1 data in healthy volunteers expected in the first half of 2027, and the company said it plans to advance ELA822 to a Phase 1/2 study in T cell-mediated disorders in mid-2027 if successful, according to Dealbreaker.
Electra formed in 2018 as a subsidiary of Star Therapeutics, a startup creator focused on rare diseases, and Star was founded by veterans of True North Therapeutics, according to Dealbreaker. Dealbreaker reported that, under Sanofi, True North’s former lead asset received FDA approval in 2022 as the first treatment for the rare autoimmune disorder cold agglutinin disease.
Electra’s CEO is Kathy Dong, whose experience includes senior roles at True North and Star, according to Dealbreaker. Both Star and Electra remained stealthy until 2022, when the companies revealed Electra’s $84 million Series B round led by Westlake Village Biopartners (now Westlake Biopartners) and OrbiMed, and the following year Electra spun out of Star and ended its direct affiliation with its former parent, according to Dealbreaker.
Since its formation, Electra said it had raised about $300 million in private financing, most recently a $183 million Series C round last fall co-led by Nextech and EQT Life Sciences, according to Dealbreaker. According to the IPO filing, Westlake is Electra’s largest shareholder with a 10.4% post-IPO stake, followed by OrbiMed with 9.1%, and as of the end of June Electra reported a cash position of $97.7 million, according to Dealbreaker.
