Apnimed is eyeing a spot on the Nasdaq exchange through an IPO worth up to $160m, which will support the company as it looks to debut its potentially “best-in-class” therapy on the US obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) market.
Through its public market launch, which will see the Massachusetts-based biotech trade under the ticker ‘APMD’, Apnimed will offer out 10,000,000 of its shares at between $14 and $16 per unit to prospective buyers, taking the potential total of this raise up to $160m. This sum could rise further, however, as Apnimed plans to offer 1,500,000 additional shares – potentially allowing the company to bank a further $24m depending on underwriter interest.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
With the IPO funds, Apnimed plans to primarily dedicate the cash to taking its lead candidate, oxnimbi, to the OSA market – dedicating around $228.8m from the IPO and existing funds to support the regulatory process and the potential commercialisation of the drug. On top of its efforts to commercialise oxnimbi, Apnimed plans to use some of the remaining cash from the IPO to fund its R&D activities for additional drug candidates.
The biotech designed oxnimbi, otherwise known as AD109, to heighten muscle activity in the upper airways to prevent airway collapse during sleep. The drug is currently under review by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for potential approval in OSA, with the regulator planning to make a call on oxnimbi before 28 February 2027 based on positive data Apnimed has filed from the drug’s Phase III programme in the condition.
Addressing unmet needs in OSA
While multiple device-based treatment options are available to patients for OSA, a notable portion of those with the condition either ineligible or unwilling to use a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine, which act by keeping the airways open during sleep.
If the FDA were to greenlight oxnimbi, the drug would become the first oral therapy to reach the OSA market, which generally remained stagnant until 2024, when Eli Lilly’s blockbuster weight loss drug, Zepbound (tirzepatide), became the first pharmaceutical to secure approval in OSA.
Zepbound’s approval offered obese patients the first new treatment option for this condition. However, as per a 2024 review published in Sleep Medicine. only just over a third of patients with OSA are considered clinically obese, meaning many patients are not eligible for Zepbound in this context.
By debuting a treatment suitable for all types of OSA, regardless of a patient’s weight, Apnimed hopes oxnimbi will become the best-in-class treatment for the condition, which currently impacts 936 million individuals worldwide.
In a previous statement, Apnimed’s CEO, Larry Miller, noted that its once-daily oral drug could hold the potential to “expand and reshape the sleep apnoea treatment landscape, while representing a notable commercial opportunity for Apnimed”.
