Irvine-based medical device maker Axonics Modulation Technologies Inc. is beefing up plans for going public.
The 5-year-old company, which makes electrical stimulation devices designed to treat overactive bladder and other urinary and bowel conditions, last week set terms for its proposed initial public offering.
The company’s looking to raise upwards of $122 million in the offering, which would involve selling nearly 7.7 million shares of its stock at $14 to $16 per share, according to regulatory filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The company’s preliminary registration statement, filed this month, listed an expectation of $86 million to be raised from the offering.
A bump up in size for an IPO—a roughly 40% increase in this case—typically denotes strong interest in the offering from potential institutional investors who are being pitched the company’s shares in the run-up to the offering.
A large IPO would also result in more proceeds for the company. Axonics has indicated it would use about $30 million in proceeds from the offering to boost its sales force and clinical support personnel.
It would spend an additional $25 million on research and development activities for its main product, a minimally invasive nerve stimulator that treats overactive bladder and related issues.
The rechargeable, implantable stimulator provides mild electrical pulses to stimulate the sacral nerves in the pelvis area to modify their activity and correct nerve messages to the brain that trigger a frequent and urgent need to go to the bathroom.
In the first quarter of next year, Axonics plans to submit an application to the Food and Drug Administration to get approval of its primary urinary incontinence product, according to SEC filings.
A time frame for Axonics’ IPO becoming effective hasn’t been disclosed. The company’s scheduled to list its shares on the Nasdaq under the symbol AXNX.
Assuming the offering goes forward, the company would likely have a market capitalization in the $400 million range.
The IPO is being underwritten by BofA Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo Securities and SunTrust Robinson Humphrey; the Irvine office of K&L Gates LLP is the primary law firm in the offering.
If it goes forward this year, Axonics would be the fourth Orange County company to go public via an IPO this year; the others are also healthcare-related businesses based in Irvine.
$100M+ Raised
The IPO isn’t the only new funding deal the company’s working on.
This month, Axonics finalized a deal with Silicon Valley Bank that will see the company get another $10 million in funds, according to last week’s filing with the SEC.
The company’s already raised more than $100 million since its inception, including a $55 million Series C offering this past March.
Investors from around the world have poured money into the firm. The latest round included Gilde Healthcare, a specialized European healthcare investor with offices in Boston and Utrecht, Netherlands; La Jolla-based CICA Inc.; and Boston-based Cormorant Asset Management.
Earlier rounds included international investors, such as Geneva’s Neomed Management, Beijing’s Legend Capital, Paris’ Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners and London’s Advent Life Sciences.
Axonics currently employs about 70 at its Spectrum-area headquarters and a nearby building that totals about 38,000 square feet. Most of its employees are involved in research and development.
