Latham & Watkins Advises the Underwriters in Checkmate Pharmaceuticals’ Initial Public Offering

Checkmate Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on developing proprietary technology to harness the power of the immune system to combat cancer, has announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 5,000,000 shares of common stock at a public offering price of US$15.00 per share. All of the shares are being offered by Checkmate. Checkmate’s common stock began trading on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbol “CMPI” on August 7, 2020. The gross proceeds of the offering, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses payable by Checkmate, are expected to be approximately US$75,000,000. The offering closed on August 11, 2020. Checkmate has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 750,000 shares of common stock at the initial public offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions. 

Latham & Watkins LLP represents the underwriters in the offering with a capital markets team led by partners Peter Handrinos and Wesley Holmes, with associates Jennifer Yoon and Kiara Vaughn. Advice was also provided on FDA and healthcare regulatory matters by partner Elizabeth Richards and counsel Betty Pang, with associates Chad Jennings and Lee Staley; on intellectual property matters by partner Alan Tamarelli, with associate Seth Appiah-Opoku; on benefits and compensation matters by partner Holly Bauer, with associate Juliet Rognlie; on tax matters by partner Jocelyn Noll, with associate Joseph Curran.