Dive Brief:
- Heart valve developer Anteris Technologies made its U.S. stock market debut this week in one of the few initial public offerings by a medtech company this year.
- Anteris said proceeds of the offering will be used to continue the development of its Duravr transcatheter heart valve as the company prepares to enroll patients in a randomized pivotal study of the device to treat severe aortic stenosis. It also plans to use the funds for other general corporate purposes and debt repayment.
- Anteris closed the offering at $6 per share under the ticker symbol “AVR” on the Nasdaq market, raising about $88.8 million, the company said Monday. The shares ended Thursday’s trading session at $5.78.
Dive Insight:
The IPO market has made a gradual comeback this year, though many would-be issuers remained cautious due to inflation and other concerns. Some analysts, such as PwC, are predicting activity will pick up in 2025 as interest rate cuts, pent-up demand and the potential for a soft landing for the economy support the market.
On Thursday, medical products supplier Medline announced plans for an IPO. The offering could raise more than $5 billion next year, according to anonymous sources quoted by Reuters.
Medtech in particular has seen a drought of new IPOs in recent years, J.P. Morgan analysts noted in a Dec. 17 sector outlook. The report said improvement in capital market conditions could support more listings in the year ahead and pointed to the recent IPO of electroencephalography device maker Ceribell as a successful example. J.P. Morgan was a manager in the offering.
Anteris, with offices in Brisbane, Australia, and Eagan, Minnesota, is developing the Duravr transcatheter heart valve to treat aortic stenosis, a narrowing of the valve that restricts blood flow. The company said its transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) uses a single piece of molded, bioengineered tissue and is shaped to mimic the performance of a healthy human valve.
The tissue, called Adapt, is cleared by the Food and Drug Administration and has been used clinically for more than a decade, Anteris said.
The company would challenge established structural heart device makers Edwards Lifesciences and Medtronic, which now dominate the TAVR market.
