Erasca, a Phase 2 biotech developing therapies for RAS/MAPK pathway-driven cancers, raised $300 million by offering 18.8 million shares at $16, the high end of the range of $14 to $16. The company offered 1.3 million more shares than anticipated.
Erasca employs a modality-agnostic approach to selectively and potently inhibit or degrade critical signaling nodes in the RAS/MAPK pathway with small molecule therapeutics, large molecule therapeutics, and protein degraders. Molecular alterations in RAS, the most frequently mutated oncogene, and the MAPK pathway, one of the most frequently altered signaling pathways in cancer, account for approximately 5.5 million new cases of cancer worldwide per year. The company currently has five clinical-stage programs, including ERAS-007, which began enrollment of a Phase 1b/2 trial in advanced solid tumors in May 2021. The company plans to begin three more Phase 1b/2a trials for ERAS-007 in other cancer indications by the 1Q22.
Erasca plans to list on the Nasdaq under the symbol ERAS. J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, BofA Securities, Evercore ISI, and Guggenheim Securities acted as joint bookrunners on the deal.
