Raleigh-based Vogenx launches IPO, raises $81.3M for metabolic disease drug development
Key Takeaways
- IPO: Vogenx raises $81.3 million in its initial public offering
- Lead drug: Company is developing mizagliflozin for post-bariatric hypoglycemia, gastroparesis and GIP-dependent Cushing's syndrome
- Clinical studies: IPO proceeds will help advance mizagliflozin into Phase 2b testing for post-bariatric hypoglycemia and a Phase 2 proof-of-concept study in gastroparesis
A Raleigh-based biopharmaceutical company is starting its next chapter as a public company after raising $81.3 million in an initial public offering.
Vogenx Inc. celebrated its Nasdaq debut with an Opening Bell ceremony in August after pricing its IPO at $13 per share, at the high end of its expected range. The company began trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market on Aug. 12 under the ticker symbol VOGX.
The company, which develops therapeutics for treating serious metabolic and gastrointestinal diseases, said it was pleased with the outcome of the IPO and the market’s response since Vogenx began trading on Nasdaq.
Vogenx’s lead drug candidate, mizagliflozin, is being developed for post-bariatric hypoglycemia (PBH), gastroparesis and GIP-dependent Cushing's syndrome.
Mizagliflozin is an oral, minimally absorbed small molecule that selectively inhibits SGLT1, a protein that transports dietary glucose from the intestine into the bloodstream. Blocking SGLT1 reduces and delays glucose absorption after meals and also reduces secretion of glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) and insulin.
Mizagliflozin moves toward midstage trials
So far, mizagliflozin has been administered to more than 500 people in 10 clinical studies. For the six of these studies that measured glucose absorption and insulin and GIP secretion, participants receiving mizagliflozin showed reduced and delayed glucose absorption after eating a meal as well as lowered overproduction of insulin and GIP compared to baseline or to participants receiving a placebo.
According to the company’s IPO prospectus filed with the SEC, Vogenx plans to use a portion of the IPO proceeds to advance mizagliflozin through two clinical studies.
One of these studies is a Phase 2b study in PBH, a common complication that can occur after bariatric surgery, causing blood sugar to drop too low after meals. There are also plans for a Phase 2 proof-of-concept study in gastroparesis, a condition where the stomach takes too long to empty its contents because the stomach muscles do not work properly.
In 2021, Vogenx licensed worldwide rights to Mizagliflozin — excluding Japan, Korea and Taiwan — from Kissei Pharmaceutical.