Sagimet Biosciences gives going public a second chance under new CEO

Biotech drug developer Sagimet Biosciences is taking another shot at going public, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Friday.

Sagimet filed another S-1 with the SEC on Friday to have its Series A stock to be listed under the ticker “SGMT” on the Nasdaq. Goldman Sachs, ​​TD Cowen​, ​Piper Sandler and ​JMP Securities are listed among the underwriters.

Under the current IPO filing, David Happel is listed as chief executive, compared with the 2021 filing that listed George Kemble.

On March 21, 2022, San Mateo, Calif.-based Sagimet had withdrawn a previous IPO filing from April 16, 2021, stating it did “not intend to proceed with the initial public offering…at this time.” From the original filing to the withdrawal less than a year later, however, the Renaissance IPO ETF
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had declined 34%. After Sagimet pulled the last IPO, the Renaissance ETF went on to fall another 27%, closing Friday at $31.09.

Back in October, Happel succeeded Kemble, who became chairman. The company, which has yet to post revenue, said its lead drug candidate is denifanstat, a once-a-day pill to treat nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH, an aggressive form of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

On its website, the company said its name is derived from a combination of the Latin word for arrow, or “sagitta,” and “metabolism,” which is one of the liver’s main functions in the body. In Greek mythology, Hercules shoots an arrow to kill the eagle Zeus sends every day to eat Prometheus’s re-growing liver as punishment for stealing fire from the gods and giving it to humans.

Sagimet has received $293.7 million in venture funding over 12 rounds since 2012, according to Crunchbase.

At the end of 2022, Sagimet reported assets of $33 million, down from $59 million at the end of 2021. In 2022, the company reported a loss of $30.6 million, compared with a loss of $24.4 million in 2021.

With 1.34 billion Series A stock outstanding, New Enterprise Associates 13 has a 22.7% stake, KPCB Holdings has a 19.5% stake, Baker Brothers Advisors has a 11.5% stake, and AP11 Ltd. has 9.8%, according to the filing.

Kemble holds a 4.5% stake, Chief Financial Officer Dennis Hom has a 1.2% stake, and board member Jinzi Wu, who is the Chairman and CEO of Hong Kong-listed Ascletis Pharma Inc.
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holds a 9.9% stake, according to the filing.

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