Exagen Raises $58 Million From IPO

Exagen Inc. (Vista, CA) completed an IPO on September 23, raising gross proceeds of $58 million from the sale of 4.14 million shares at $14 per share. Net proceeds were approximately $54 million after deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and other IPO expenses.
Cowen, Cantor Fitzgerald and William Blair managed the IPO.

Exagen operates an 8,000-square-foot CAP-accredited lab in southern California. The company’s main product is a laboratory-developed test named AVISE CTD that was commercially launched in 2012. AVISE CTD is a blood test panel that can help doctors diagnose lupus, an autoimmune
disease that occurs when your body’s immune system attacks its own tissues and organs.

Exagen has a total of about 150 employees, including 55 sales reps who market AVISE CTD to 5,000 rheumatologists across the United States. Under an exclusive agreement, Exagen’s reps also market Janssen’s drug Simponi for the treatment of adult patients with moderate to severe rheumatic arthritis.

In the six months ended June 30, 2019, Exagen recorded a net loss of $9.8 million, unchanged from the same period a year earlier; revenue was up 35% to $19.7 million; and average reimbursement per AVISE CTD test increased by 5% to approximately $325 per test. The company has
accumulated total losses of $158 million since being formed in 2002.