2015年3月13日讯 /生物谷BIOON/--最近几年，肿瘤免疫疗法在生物医药领域可谓是火得一塌糊涂。而这种趋势甚至影响到了资本市场。众多的生物医药公司都竞相开发肿瘤免疫疗法，并通过IPO获得了华尔街资本家的大力支持。而就在本周，Aduro医药公司再次向市场提交了IPO申请，计划融资8600万美元，此举也可检验经过数年的狂轰乱炸，华尔街的投资家是否仍然对肿瘤免疫疗法热情不减。
当然，敢从华尔街的金融大鳄钱包里掏钱，Aduro公司自非泛泛之辈。公司目前正在开发的肿瘤免疫疗法药物CRS-207结合肿瘤疫苗GVAX联合治疗方案刚刚发布了积极的临床研究数据结果。美国FDA此前也授予公司这项疗法突破性药物认证。
目前，该疗法正处于治疗胰腺癌的临床二期研究阶段，并有望在2016年上半年公布研究数据。事实上，早在去年十月份，医药巨头强生公司就已经看到了这种疗法的前景。强生公司和Aduro公司签订了合作开发这种肿瘤免疫疗法的协议，包括了3000万美元的预付款和高达10亿美元之多的里程碑奖金。由此可见强生公司对这一疗法的期待之情（相关阅读：强生与Aduro签订价值8亿美元的癌症研究协议）。
而最近几年，生物医药公司频频出现在投资者的视线中。不久之前就有两家生物医药公司进行IPO。它们分别是Kempharm公司和来自多伦多的Trillium Therapeutics。两家公司的融资总额均为5700万美元。其中Kempharm公司专注于开发防滥用型药物，而Trillium Therapeutics公司则凭借其肿瘤单抗药物获得了投资者的青睐。
由此可见，未来相当长的一段时间内，生物医药公司仍将是投资者的宠儿，尤其是那些搭上了肿瘤免疫这趟大风的公司。
详细英文报道：
Aduro Biotech is taking its "breakthrough" set of immuno-oncology projects to Wall Street, where they will see if investors still have a big appetite for biotech IPOs. The company filed its S-1 on Wednesday, laying out its case for an $86 million initial offering that will help fund its late-stage work in the field.
Aduro's pitch relies quite a lot on its Phase IIa data for CRS-207 combined with a once-failed cancer vaccine dubbed GVAX. That study was stopped early on promising data, winning the FDA over with a breakthrough therapy designation that has made this company--a 2014 Fierce 15 player--prominent in one of the hottest fields in drug R&D. And the combo is now in a Phase IIb study for pancreatic cancer, with topline data due out in the first half of 2016.
Like most biotechs, Aduro has racked up a considerable amount of red ink. The biotech reports an accumulated deficit of $61 million at the end of 2014, when it had $119 million in the bank. A few days into 2015, though, the biotech banked a $51 million crossover round, with partner J&J joining the syndicate.
The biotech inked its second licensing pact of the year with Johnson & Johnson in October, kicking in a $30 million upfront and boosting its total milestone package to the $1 billion-plus category. With the J&J Innovation Center in the Bay Area leading the way, the pharma giant grabbed rights to new product candidates for lung and other types of cancer, convinced that Aduro's platform tech holds great promise for beefing up its oncology pipeline. J&J's $817 million deal includes potential milestones for successful development efforts as it hitched a ride on a tech platform focused on the ability of engineered Listeria monocytogenes strains to kick up an immune response against cancer.
That round of deals and dollars helped CEO Stephen Isaacs triple his pay last year, taking home $1.5 million.
According to the S-1, Morningside Venture has a leading 37.8% stake in the biotech. Isaacs has a 3.3% interest, while J&J Development owns 6.6%.
With the end of Q1 looming, several biotechs are lining up to go public.
# Kempharm, which is developing an abuse-deterrent version of Vicodin, filed for a $57 million IPO on Wednesday. The Coralville, IA-based company says it's planning on an NDA with the FDA in the second half of this year. S-1
# Toronto-based Trillium Therapeutics, meanwhile, filed a $57.5 million F-1 with the SEC. The biotech is prepping an IND for its lead cancer drug, SIRPaFc, an "antibody-like protein that harnesses the innate immune system by blocking the activity of CD47." F-1