Salspera, a clinical-stage cancer biotech developing live biopharmaceuticals to stimulate an immune response, filed on Monday with the SEC for an initial public offering. The company filed with an $85 million placeholder for the deal size; however, we estimate it may raise up to $50 million.
Salspera aims to develop a new class of immunotherapeutics for the treatment of solid tumors, which it refers to as "live biopharmaceuticals," or genetically modified biological agents that have the capability of expressing select anti-tumoral agents within the tumor’s microenvironment. Lead program Saltikva is an attenuated strain of Salmonella Typhimurium that is non-toxic and orally administered, engineered to express the human gene interleukin-2, or Salmonella-IL2, which may increase populations of NK and CD8+ cytotoxic T cells in tumor microenvironments and in the peripheral blood. The company is initially targeting pancreatic cancer, having conducted a Phase 2 trial for patients with Stage IV metastatic pancreatic cancer.
The Cambridge, MA-based company was founded in 2017 and plans to list on the Nasdaq under the symbol TKVA. Salspera filed confidentially on September 12, 2025. Kingswood Capital Markets is the sole bookrunner on the deal. No pricing terms were disclosed.
