Ariosa, maker of a genetic test for pregnant women, files for a $69M IPO

Ariosa Diagnostics is already a favorite with pregnant women. But it’s about to become a big name on Wall Street, too, with its initial public offering.

Ariosa plans to offer $69 million in a proposed maximum aggregate offering price, but it has not priced its shares yet or said how many share it plans to offer.

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The filing was initially spotted by Street Insider.

The San Jose, Calif.-based firm develops a prenatal test called Harmony ($795), which it launched in 2012. Harmony is a DNA test that detects common genetic conditions, such as Down Syndrome, with a single drop of blood from a pregnant woman. For patients, it’s a safer option than a chorionic villus sampling or an amniocentesis, which poses a risk of miscarriage.

By all accounts, the four-year-old firm is rolling in cash with its test sold in 90 countries around the world. Ariosa’s test is currently cheaper than most of its competition’s products, making it a popular choice. Natera’s comparable Panorama test, which hit the market in March of 2013, costs $1,495.

The company stated in the filing: “Our revenue was $12.0 million in 2012 and $53.3 million in 2013. Our net loss was $21.9 million in 2012 and $2.4 million in 2013. In 2013, approximately 25 percent of our revenue was generated in international markets.”

The company operates in one of the fastest-growing — but least-hyped — segments in health care. A recent report from market research firm DeciBio found that the majority of the $100 million worldwide next-generation sequencing molecular diagnostic market in 2012 consisted of non-invasive prenatal testing.

Ariosa recently emerged on top after a protracted legal battle with a competitor. Prenatal testing — or “NIPT,” as it’s often called — is a highly litigious space. In November of 2013, a District Court judge in California struck down a patent held by a San Diego-based diagnostics company called Sequenom. The company’s rivals, which include Verinata, Natera, and Ariosa, all stood to benefit from the ruling.

Ariosa’s investors would not respond to a request for comment due to the Securities and Exchanges Commission-imposed quiet period. The company recently raised just shy of $53 million in a third institutional round of venture capital led by Venrock Capital, the venture firm that has led a number of successful health care investments in recent years, including Castlight Health.

The offering is being made through J.P. Morgan, Citigroup, Leerink Partners, and William Blair.

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