Just last week, bluebird bio executives said the company's cash holdings could fund its operations—including two gene therapy launches—until early next year. Now, the company has moved to extend that runway.
By selling 20 million shares at $6 apiece, bluebird expects to raise $113.55 million, the gene therapy specialist said in a Thursday Securities and Exchange Commission filing (PDF). With the new funds, bluebird expects to be able to operate at least until the fourth quarter of next year.
The move comes after bluebird told investors during the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference it had cash to fund operations through the first quarter of 2024.
Bluebird plans to use the new money to "support commercialization and manufacturing" for its two FDA-approved gene therapies Zynteglo and Skysona plus sickle cell disease candidate lovo-cel if approved. Zynteglo and Skysona won FDA nods in August and September, respectively, and offer a new way of treating patients with two rare diseases.
Zynteglo is a one-time treatment for patients with beta thalassemia who require regular red blood cell transfusions. Sporting a $2.8 million list price, the drug is created by genetically modifying a patient’s own bone marrow stem cells to produce functional beta-globin.
As for Skysona, the med carries a $3 million price tag and is approved to treat the rare disease cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy.
With the launches underway, bluebird expects to burn between $270 million and $300 million in cash this year. But by winning those FDA nods, bluebird bio picked up a pair of FDA priority review vouchers that it has since sold for nearly $200 million.
Bluebird also sees a big opportunity for lovo-cel if approved. That drug could enter a larger market than its other two gene therapies and is nearly ready to be submitted to the FDA, bluebird said earlier this month.
Before its pair of 2022 approvals, bluebird was in dire straits. Zynteglo previously won an approval in Europe, but the company had to give up on that market after it failed to reach pricing agreements with authorities there.
Uncertainties over the company's future in April 2022 prompted a round of layoffs.
Bluebird's share price is down around 9% so far this week after the share sale announcement (PDF) Wednesday.