Biotech IPOs have been few and far between of late.
However, that might be changing.
What’s happening:
- RayzeBio (NASDAQ: RYZB) went public, raising $311M USD
- Neumora Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NMRA) began trading, raising $250M USD
Why it matters:
- RayzeBio has a Phase III clincal trial for their radiopharmaceutical therapy for treating neuroendocrine tumors
- Neumora has a very promising Phase III clinical trial for a new therapeutic to treat Major Depressive Disorder
- Neumora boasts a long list of notable and sophisticated biotech backers, including Christian Angermayer, ARCH Venture Partners and SoftBank
- Biotech IPOs have been extremely quiet, so these large new public listings show some renewed momentum in the public markets for drug discovery
By the numbers:
- In 2021, there were a record breaking 111 new biotech IPOs
- In 2022, those numbers were significantly down with just 22 new IPOs for biotechs
- So far in 2023, there have been 16 IPOs for biotech and pharmaceutical companies
The intrigue:
- One of the most interesting new areas of biotech has been psychedelic medicines, which are seeing an uptick in interest after the positive Phase III trial results for MDMA assisted therapy to treat PTSD were released
