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Castle Bio Eyes up to $61.3M in Planned IPO

NEW YORK — Castle Biosciences, a developer of genetic tests for skin cancer, said this week that it expects to sell roughly 3.3 million shares of its common stock at $14 to $16 apiece in its planned initial public offering.

In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said it has also granted the underwriters of the IPO — SVB Leerink, Robert W. Baird Co., BTIG, and Canaccord Genuity — the option to purchase up to an additional 500,000 shares. If the stock floats at the high end of the expected range, the IPO could raise up to $61.3 million.

The company's shares are expected to trade on the Nasdaq under the symbol CSTL.

Friendswood, Texas-based Castle Bio markets two tests: DecisionDx-Melanoma for identifying high-risk Stage I and II cutaneous melanoma patients and DecisionDx-UM for identifying patients diagnosed with uveal melanoma who are at a low risk of metastasis. It is also developing assays for predicting the risk of metastasis in patients diagnosed with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma and a test to assist physicians diagnose suspicious pigmented lesions.

In the SEC filing, Castle Bio said it generated $22.8 million in revenues in 2018 and incurred a net loss of $6.4 million. Its SG&A costs for the year were $16.5 million, and its R&D expenses were  $4.9 million. The company, which closed an $11.6 million convertible note financing in March, finished the first quarter of 2019 with $16.2 million in cash and cash equivalents.

Castle Bio said that it intends to use about $17 million from the net proceeds of the IPO for selling and marketing activities, including the expansion of its sales force; $17 million for R&D; and the remainder for working capital and general corporate purposes.

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