IPO News: Is This Extremely Secretive $4.7 Billion Company About to Go Public?

IPO News: There's a massive new development out of Cambridge, Mass., the home to some of the top academic minds at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

A secretive biotech company that doesn't sell any products somehow has a valuation of $4.7 billion. This stealthy startup is sitting on $1.3 billion in cash and has raised over $1.9 billion since its inception.

Little is known about the CEO other than he reportedly has a $500 million fortune.

But here's what we do know...

This private company could revolutionize modern medicine, and it may go public soon if it can successfully launch a new vaccine ...

IPO News: The Secret $4 Billion Biotech Firm with Big Plans

There are reportedly 12 drugs in its pipeline, although there are very few clues as to what the biotech firm is actually working on.IPO News

According to Forbes, the company's remedies could cure everything from cancer to the Zika virus.

In fact, well-known pharmaceutical companies are lining up to invest or work with the secretive group.

In 2013, this private business signed a deal for a $240 million cash payment with AstraZeneca Plc. (NYSE ADR: AZN), a biopharmaceutical company worth nearly $80 billion. AstraZeneca followed that with a $140 million investment in 2014.

Alexion, a rare-disease specialist, also jumped at the chance of investing with $25 million in 2014.

In June 2016, Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) paid $200 million to get the biotech company's help to develop cancer vaccines.

We're closely watching this company because of the success of recent healthcare IPOs.

Shares of AnaptysBio Inc. (Nasdaq: ANAB) opened at $16 per share on Jan. 2 and opened this morning at $29.17 per share.

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That's an increase of 82% in just over two months.

Of course, finding news about the tight-lipped firm hasn't been easy. But because of an obscure lawsuit, there's more information available about the secretive company than ever before.

Here's the scoop on what could be the biggest healthcare IPO this year...

This Could Be the Biggest IPO News of 2017

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The mysterious company is called Moderna Therapeutics and was founded by Stephane Bancel between 2010 and 2011. That's how secretive the company is. There's no official launch date available to the public.

Now, the process Moderna Therapeutics is using to create drugs is very complicated. But what investors need to know is the drugs will reportedly "hack" the operating systems of life through Messenger RNA (mRNA).

Considered a molecule, mRNA "carries genetic code from DNA in a cell's nucleus to ribosomes, the cell's protein-making machinery," according to Moderna.

And the research could offer remedies for heart disease, cancer, and the Zika virus.

However, a lawsuit was filed because of two products Moderna entered into its clinical trials. Moderna relies on technology from a company called Acuitas Therapeutics, but Acuitas didn't own the technology it was licensing.

The technology belongs to a third company called Arbutus, which terminated the license it gave to Acuitas in 2016. Acuitas then filed a lawsuit to protect its deal with Moderna.

Arbutus then countersued and claimed its deal with Acuitas didn't cover Moderna's medicines.

Forbes was able to interview Bancel about the lawsuit. He said that Acuitas' technology was just "OK" and Moderna is actually developing its own. He's also licensing technology from Merck.

Data from one of Moderna's vaccines is expected to be released sometime this year. If the results are positive, Forbes speculates it could lead to a "sizzling-hot initial public offering."

As more details emerge about Moderna's drug trials, we will keep Money Morning readers updated through our free Profit Alerts service.

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