Benzinga | Jul 6, 2021 03:31PM EDT

Rare Disease Biotech Rallybio Targets $100M IPO

* Rallybio Corporation (NASDAQ:RLYB) ended the first quarter with nearly $128 million in the bank, and now it has filed to raise up to $100 million in its IPO to trade on NASDAQ under the symbol RLYB.

* The news comes days after Rallybio established proof of concept for its lead program, RLYB211, in fetal and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (FNAIT).

* This rare disease causes a mother's immune system to attack her fetus or newborn child's platelets, the blood cells involved in clotting.

* RLYB211 is a polyclonal antibody treatment made by purifying antibodies from donated plasma and is designed to clear fetal platelets from the mother's circulation, preventing the immune attack against them.

* Data from the first cohort showed the candidate could "rapidly and completely clear" HPA-1a positive platelets from those without natural antigen defense.

* Six male participants saw their antigens cleared with a mean half-life of 0.32 hours, compared to the two on placebo with a mean half-life of 65.29 hours.

* The IPO proceeds will fund the completion of the Phase 1/2 trial for RLYB211 and push a second FNAIT candidate, a monoclonal antibody dubbed RLYB212, into the clinic in Q1 of 2022.