A Milford-based biotech working on a treatment for hepatitis B plans to go public this week with a planned $40 million IPO, according to Renaissance Capital.
Spring Bank Pharmaceuticals plans trade on the Nasdaq under the symbol "SBPH" and has plans to price its shares between $13 and $15 apiece.
The clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, founded in 2002, is focused on oral medications to treat viral diseases. The company has plans to initiate two phase 2 clinical trials this year with its lead drug candidate SB 9200, one for patients with chronic hepatitis B, and another for a viral infection of the lungs known as respiratory syncytial virus.
Most recently, the 15-person company completed a phase I clinical trial in 38 patients with hepatitis C, data for which it said in financial filings it hopes to translate into hepatitis B studies.
The company is also developing compounds for other viruses, such as human immunodeficiency virus, and hepatitis delta virus, and is conducting research into inflammatory diseases and cancers.
If it follows through with its plans, it would be the fourth Massachusetts-based biotech to go public this year.