Rhythm nets $163.7mm via FOPO

In its first financing since going public, Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Inc. (therapies for rare genetic disorders of obesity) netted $163.7mm through a follow-on offering of 6.59mm common shares (including full exercise of the overallotment) priced at $26.42. The company will use the proceeds to bring its lead compound setmelanotide through Phase III trials for for pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) deficiency obesity, leptin receptor (LepR) deficiency obesity, Bardet-Biedl syndrome, and Alström syndrome and to prepare the regulatory filings in those indications; for clinical development of setmelanotide for POMC heterozygous deficiency obesity and POMC epigenetic disorders and to develop a once-weekly formulation of the compound; to expand the diagnosis of genetic obesity, including genetic sequencing of patients from targeted populations and ongoing genotyping and genetic epidemiology studies; and for preclinical studies of the Prader-Willi syndrome candidate RM853, which the company licensed from Takeda in April.