LB Pharmaceuticals found enough investor interest to boost the size of its IPO, which will finance clinical trials in schizophrenia and bipolar depression. The biotech has modified an old Sanofi drug with changes intended to reduce side effects and allow less frequent dosing.
LB Pharmaceuticals’ planned IPO will fund late-stage clinical development of LB-102, a once-daily pill designed to improve on the old Sanofi schizophrenia drug Solian. The IPO filing follows a corporate restructuring in May that cut the jobs of LB’s chief financial and scientific officers to streamline operations and extend its cash runway.
Alan Murray on improving access for medical transportation.
Caris Life Sciences applies AI and machine learning to patient samples to detect cancer and as a companion diagnostic guiding the use of targeted cancer therapies. As a commercial-stage company, Caris’s upsized public markets debut is an outlier amid the continuing IPO freeze for clinical-stage biotechs developing new drugs.
Investors showed appetite for Metsera’s IPO, as shares of the clinical-stage metabolic medicines biotech popped 47% in their Nasdaq debut. Maze Therapeutics and Beta Bionics also priced IPOs; the three companies raised $636 million combined.
Ascentage Pharma’s U.S. IPO will support clinical testing of its two lead drugs, small molecules in development for advanced cases of certain blood cancers. Takeda holds an exclusive option to develop and commercialize one of those drugs in most of the world.
Septerna’s lead program is in Phase 1 testing for hypoparathyroidism. The therapies available and in development for this rare disease are injectable, and Septerna aims to stand apart with an oral GPCR-targeting small molecule.
Solera Health is working to streamline employer contracting with health tech.
Upstream Bio will use its IPO haul to continue clinical testing of verekitug, which it contends could be a better treatment option for severe asthma compared to a commercialized Amgen and AstraZeneca drug. CAMP4 Therapeutics and CeriBell also priced IPOs to join the public markets.
BioAge Labs’ lead drug candidate, azelaprag, is in Phase 2 testing in combination with Eli Lilly’s weight management medication Zepbound. The biotech’s oral drug activates a receptor it says can mimic certain biological effects of exercise.
The way venture capital firms invest in biotech startups has changed. Veteran VCs Chris Garabedian and Arjun Goyal offered their perspectives during a panel discussion at the World Medical Innovation Forum.
Bicara Therapeutics’ IPO raised $315 million for Phase 3 testing of a bifunctional antibody drug with potential to become a first-line treatment for head and neck cancers. Zenas BioPharma and MBX Biosciences also went public; all three companies upsized their IPOs.
Greenway Health blends smart technology with human expertise to elevate revenue cycle.
NeOnc Technologies is preparing to go public via the less common path of a direct listing as it continues mid-stage testing of its intranasally administered brain cancer drug. Meanwhile, the mostly stagnant biotech IPO pipeline is showing new signs of life with two large stock market debuts expected this week.
Alumis’s lead drug candidate blocks TYK2, an inflammation target that’s already addressed by Sotyktu, a Bristol Myers Squibb drug approved for plaque psoriasis. Alumis plans to begin two Phase 3 tests in this indication later this year.
Rapport Therapeutics’ IPO came with a concurrent private placement that boosted the biotech’s cash haul. The new capital will support clinical development of a lead drug with a novel approach to focal epilepsy, a form of the disorder that affects 1.8 million people in the U.S.
Contineum Therapeutics plans to spend most of its IPO cash on clinical testing of a lead drug candidate in development for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and multiple sclerosis. This small molecule blocks a competitive target pursued by several other companies, including Bristol Myers Squibb and AbbVie.
Cancer drug developer Boundless Bio is a pioneer in therapies that target extrachromosomal DNA. The IPO cash will support its pipeline, including a lead program on track to report preliminary data later this year.