Biotech Bulletin: IPO Watch – Will 2024 be Biotech’s Time to Shine?

New York, January 29, 2024 - PRISM MarketView - After a record 104 initial public offerings (IPO) in 2021, biotech ground almost to a halt with just 21 IPOs recorded in 2022, and 20 last year. Analysts described 2023 as a ‘white knuckle ride’ and headlines like ‘The Biotech Graveyard’ were a sign of the times. According to reporting by Fierce Biotech, funding or scientific leads dried up for 27 biotechs that were then forced to lay off staff and close down entirely.

With 2023 firmly in the rearview mirror, investor appetite for biotech may be on its way back. Will 2024 be biotech’s year to shine?

This year has started off strongly for biotech with CG Oncology’s ($CGON) stellar Nasdaq debut on Thursday. In an upsized initial public offering (IPO), the company’s shares soared 96% above the original IPO price, reaching an impressive ceiling of more than $40 during intraday trading, before settling at $35.35 after market on Friday. CG’s lead candidate, cretostimogene is in Phase 3 development for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) patients unresponsive to Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) therapy.

ArriVent BioPharma ($AVBP) rose by 11.11% on Friday after it priced an upsized offering at the midpoint of the expected range. The company sold 9.7 million shares, more than its planned 8.3 million, to achieve gross proceeds of $175 million. ArriVent is working to bring drugs developed in China to Western markets via in-licensing deals.

BrightSprings Health Services ($BTSG) planned to raise approximately $960 million in an IPO that would value the company at about $3 billion. The IPO priced at below the anticipated range and closed down (15.28%) on its first day of trading on Friday. The stock recovered +2.45% in after market trading, to reach $11.27 and a market cap of $1.88 billion.

Investors will be keeping a close eye on other IPO hopefuls for early 2024, including:

Metagenomi is a gene editing startup looking to revolutionize gene editing for the benefit of patients around the world. The company is focused on devastating diseases including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), cystic fibrosis, cardiovascular disease and hemophilia A. Metagenomi filed to IPO in early January, the same day it closed an oversubscribed Series B financing round which added $275 million to the company’s cash runway.

Kyverna Therapeutics is developing life changing medicines for people living with autoimmune diseases. The company’s pipeline includes cell therapy candidates targeting lymphoma, lupus nephritis and other indications, and its lead program, KYV-101 Neurology, is in Phase 2 trials for myasthenia gravis and multiple sclerosis. Kyverna has filed for a $100 million IPO to develop gene-based treatments and CAR T-cell treatments for autoimmune diseases.

Alto Neuroscience is a precision medicine company focused on psychiatric drug development based on AI-derived brain biomarkers. It has candidates in development targeting depression, PTSD, and a number of undisclosed neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases. The company has applied to list on the New York Stock Exchange, filing for a $100 million IPO.

Fractyl Health will be moving into an increasingly crowded space following its IPO. The company is pioneering breakthrough therapies to treat Type 2 diabetes and obesity and is currently conducting a pivotal clinical study to evaluate an investigational procedure called Revita, a non-drug procedure that may help improve blood sugar without increasing medicines or insulin. Revita is CE Marked and available in Germany. Fractyl has also filed for a $100 million IPO.

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