Biotech IPOs continued to rule the roost last week with Autolus, the U.K. based T-cell therapy specialist listing raising USD 150 million.

In tune with the trends established with the IPOs in recent times, London-based Autolus, which will trade under the ticker symbol AUTL, smashed an earlier target of USD 100 million with its listing of USD 17 per share and added an estimated USD 170 million in venture funding since being established in 2014.

The IPO has provided the biotech major with the financial bandwidth to aggressively pursue its new generation of CAR-T variants on a broader level, with the advancement of several therapies or the start of clinical trials over the next couple of months. It has been stated by the company that its advanced focus on CAR-T therapies has the potential to trigger performance improvement by helping in the functional longevity of T cells in the body. It can also go a long way in reducing treatment toxicity and help in extending the use of the technique to new forms of cancer.

 The lead project of Autolus is a CAR-T in a phase 1 trial in pediatric relapsed or refractory acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) targeting CD19, the same target level from Novartis and Gilead/Kite for already approved CAR-Ts. The company is also actively involved in early-stage trial planning for therapies targeting CD19/CD22 and BCMA in lymphomas and multiple myeloma.