The CEO of Generate Biomedicines, a biotechnology firm using artificial intelligence to develop therapies for immunology and oncology, on Friday rang the Nasdaq opening bell as the company expects to raise $400 million for its initial public offering.

The Phase 3 biotech, trading on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol GENB, offered 25 million shares for $16 each, right in the middle of its planned range of $15 to $17, according to a company announcement Friday.

However, after CEO Mike Nally rang the opening bell in Times Square, Generate Biomedicines' stock dropped 6% in its debut, with shares trading at just under $12 as of late Friday afternoon. The offering is expected to close on March 2, according to the announcement.

A representative for Generate Biomedicines could not be immediately reached for comment Friday.

Goodwin Procter LLP is representing Generate Biomedicines, while Latham & Watkins LLP is representing the underwriters, which include Goldman Sachs & Co., Morgan Stanley, Piper Sandler, Guggenheim Securities, and Cantor.

Based in Somerville, Massachusetts, Generate Biomedicines uses an artificial intelligence discovery platform to create medicines for severe asthma, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing earlier this week.

"Our vision is to program biology to generate optimal therapeutics for the greatest impact on human health," the company said in its filing. "Central to our vision is the Generate Platform, designed to be a therapeutic area and protein modality agnostic system integrating computational innovation with scalable biohardware to address therapeutic challenges beyond the reach of traditional technologies."

Its lead product candidate, called GB-0895, is an investigational long-acting monoclonal antibody that is in development to treat severe asthma, the filing said.

"Severe asthma represents a substantial unmet medical need, with industry sources suggesting that only 15% to 25% of eligible patients receive biologic therapy," the company said in its filing. "There are adherence and persistence challenges with existing shorter-acting biologic agents and GB-0895's potential ... dosing regimen is designed to reduce injection frequency to address these challenges."

The company is backed by life sciences-focused venture capital firm Flagship Pioneering, which the SEC filing noted is Generate Biomedicines' lead investor.

The Goodwin team advising Generate Biomedicines includes Stuart Cable, Joseph Theis, Stephanie Richards, and Janet Hsueh.

The Latham team advising the underwriters includes Peter Handrinos, Wesley Holmes, and Samuel Niles.