Morningside spawned Stealth Bio’s IPO stumbles out of the gate, raising $78M

Stealth Bio may be rethinking its low-profile approach to an IPO.

The company just launched its initial offering, pricing 6.5 million shares for $MITO at $12 — the low end of the range — and raising $78 million for its work on a pipeline of drugs focused on mitochondrial diseases after applying for an IPO in Hong Kong that never materialized. 

Morningside veteran Reenie McCarthy — a lawyer by training — is in charge of the enterprise while Mark Bamberger, a former cardio and metabolic research chief at Pfizer, is CSO.

Reenie McCarthy

The team at Stealth may have remained under the radar, but they’ve burned through $400 million working on new therapies related to mitochondrial dysfunction. Mitochondria are the powerhouses of the cell, turning fuel into energy. And when that goes wrong, it can spur a host of diseases, running from rare genetic conditions to broad issues related to aging.

Mark Bamberger

The biotech has a Phase III program all lined up and ready to read out later in the year, looking for promising data on elamipretide on primary mitochondrial myopathy. The biotech has 4 clinical programs underway, with the earliest targeting dry, age-related macular degeneration.

Morningside Ventures owned the lion’s share of the equity going into the IPO, with 95.3% of the stock.