Biotech IPO shares climb in debuts after deals upsized

A TRIO of biotech companies’ shares rose in their first trading sessions after they each sold more shares in their respective initial public offerings (IPOs) than they had planned.

Bicara Therapeutics shares climbed 30 per cent to US$23.41 apiece as of Friday’s (Sep 13) close. The company had expanded its IPO to sell 17.5 million shares at US$18 each, at the top of the price range, to raise US$315 million, according to a statement.

Shares of MBX Biosciences rose 48 per cent to US$23.65 each. Its enlarged first-time share sale raised US$163 million, pricing 10.2 million shares at US$16 each at the upper limit of the price range.

Zenas BioPharma shares increased 6.8 per cent to US$18.15 each. The IPO raised US$225 million, priced at US$17 apiece, the middle of the marketed range.

The offerings make this week the busiest for biotech and pharmaceuticals IPOs since July 2021, data compiled by Bloomberg show. They bring the volume this year raised by drug developers via IPOs to US$2.7 billion, a nearly 60 per cent jump from the same period in 2023, the data showed.

The IPOs came as a boost to the sector after a string of lacklustre deals. Drug developers that had raised more than US$10 million in US IPOs this year prior to Thursday have largely faltered, with seven of the 11 firms diving below their debut prices, data compiled by Bloomberg showed.

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Zenas makes therapies for patients living with autoimmune diseases, its filing showed. Its lead product candidate is designed to inhibit the activity of cells that are implicated in many autoimmune diseases without depleting them, according to the filing. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s beneficial ownership in the company is set to fall to 3.7 per cent after the offering, compared with 5.3 per cent beforehand, the filing showed.

Bicara’s lead programme is focused on a treatment that targets certain types of head and neck carcinomas, its filing showed. Entities affiliated with India’s Biocon are set to beneficially own 11 per cent of the shares after the IPO, compared with 16 per cent previously, according to the filing.

MBX is focused on developing therapies for endocrine and metabolic disorders, its filing showed. It is backed by entities affiliated with Frazier Life Sciences, New Enterprise Associates and OrbiMed Advisors. BLOOMBERG