Vaccitech, the company behind the AstraZeneca PLC (LON:AZN)/Oxford University Coronavirus (COVID-19) jab, is preparing to float in New York.
The valuation could be as high as US$700mln (£509mln), The Wall Street Journal reported, with some backers expecting it to rocket to US$1bn by the end of 2021.
It was founded in 2016 by Sarah Gilbert, the University of Oxford professor who led the team developing the Coronavirus vaccine, and professor Adrian Hill, the director of the prestigious Jenner Institute.
The biotech firm has developed a platform that mimics viral infection in human cells to stimulate the body’s immune system, so it can fight foreign pathogens and cancer.
Vaccitech’s first licenced programme was the COVID-19 inoculation, now distributed by AstraZeneca, while it is on first-stage trials for treatment for HPV, prostate cancer and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) among others.
Gilbert and Hill are lined up for a £20mln payout, after the company was valued at US$425mln in a new funding round.
They each owned over 5% of the biotech as of January.
Alphabet Inc’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) investment arm GV is set to rack up even more as it owned over 11%.