Ariosa无创产前诊断成华尔街新宠 获6900万融资

幸福侠侣

2014年的2月12日，当中国政府叫停“无创产前基因检测”项目时，美国的Ariosa诊断公司却在纽约州正式被授予“无创产前诊断许可证”。

在获得许可证后短短的1个月里，Ariosa因获得“摩根大通”等投行亲睐而成为华尔街的“新宠”。

Ariosa计划提供6900万美元的最大股票发行价，但它尚未定价其股票数目。

Ariosa创建于2008年，这个成立仅4年多的公司的产前诊断项目目前已经远销90多个国家和地区。

其旗舰产品“Harmony产前检测”是一项确保孕产妇和胎儿它通过血液检测方式，确定胎儿是否患有唐氏综合症及其他染色体疾病。

自2012年起，Ariosa已开始在美国和加拿大市场推广其Harmony产品。

去年Ariosa营收额为5300万美元。

Ariosa计划在纳斯达克上市，股票交易代码为“AROS”，摩根大通(JPMorgan Chase)和花旗集团为联合承销商。

在提交给SEC的S-1管理文件中，Ariosa没有公布此次IPO的发行价区间。

目前孕妇产前检测市场的竞争程度非常激烈。去年，Ariosa在产前检测专利战予以主要竞争对手Sequenom重创。

Ariosa称，将把此次IPO所获资金主要用于Harmony市场推广以及公司今后的收购活动。

无创产前诊断在中国

2014年2月9日，无创产前检测被国家食品药品监督管理总局、国家卫生计生委联合（食药监办械管〔2014〕25号）叫停，1个月后国家卫生计生委医政医管局下发了《关于开展高通量基因测序技术临床应用试点单位申报工作的通知》（国卫医医护便函〔2014〕44号），开展高通量基因测序技术临床应用试点工作。

在应用试点的单位中，3月19日，上海市率先发布了《关于组织开展高通量基因测序技术临床应用试点单位申报工作的通知》。

基因测序是基因检测“大家族”中的一种前沿新技术，具有检测通量大、速度快、成本低等特点，通常被称为二代测序技术，或高通量基因测序技术。目前在我国，临床使用最广泛的基因测序技术，与美国Ariosa的“Harmony产前检测”相似，是无创产前筛查，可以替代传统的羊水穿刺筛查胎儿患唐氏综合征的风险。

Ariosa, maker of a genetic test for pregnant women, files for a $69M IPO

Ariosa Diagnostics is already a favorite with pregnant women. But it’s ab0ut to become a big name on Wall Street, too, with its initial public offering.

Ariosa plans to offer $69 million in a proposed maximum aggregate offering price, but it has not priced its shares yet or said how many share it plans to offer.

The filing was initially spotted by Street Insider.

The San Jose, Calif.-based firm develops a prenatal test called Harmony ($795), which it launched in 2012. Harmony is a DNA test that detects common genetic conditions, such as Down Syndrome, with a single dro of blood from a pregnant woman. For patients, it’s a safer option than a chorionic villus sampling or an amniocentesis, which poses a risk of miscarriage.

By all accounts, the four-year-old firm is rolling in cash with its test sold in 90 countries around the world. Ariosa’s test is currently cheaper than most of its competition’s products, making it a popular choice. Natera’s comparable Panorama test, which hit the market in March of 2013, costs $1,495.

The company stated in the filing: “Our revenue was $12.0 million in 2012 and $53.3 million in 2013. Our net loss was $21.9 million in 2012 and $2.4 million in 2013. In 2013, approximately 25 percent of our revenue was generated in international markets.”

The company operates in one of the fastest-growing — but least-hyped — segments in health care. A recent report from market research firm DeciBio found that the majority of the $100 million worldwide next-generation sequencing molecular diagnostic market in 2012 consisted of non-invasive prenatal testing.

Ariosa recently emerged on top after a protracted legal battle with a competitor. Prenatal testing — or “NIPT,” as it’s often called – is a highly litigious space. In November of 2013, a District Court judge in California struck down a patent held by a San Diego-based diagnostics company called Sequenom. The company’s rivals, which include Verinata, Natera, and Ariosa, all stood to benefit from the ruling.

Ariosa’s investors would not respond to a request for comment due to the Securities and Exchanges Commission-imposed quiet period. The company recently raised just shy of $53 million in a third institutional round of venture capital led by Venrock Capital, the venture firm that has led a number of successful health care investments in recent years, including Castlight Health.

The offering is being made through J.P. Morgan, Citigroup, Leerink Partners, and William Blair.