LB Pharma will test the IPO market to seek funding for a Phase III-ready schizophrenia asset.
The biotech IPO freeze has finally thawed. LB Pharma, a biotech developing therapies for neuropsychiatric disorders, is planning an initial public offering.
LB filed the paperwork Friday, seeking the standard $100 million raise for now. Pricing has not yet been disclosed.
The biotech will use the proceeds from the raise to support the entry of lead asset LB-102 into Phase III testing for schizophrenia. This trial could support a regulatory filing for market approval. Additional cash would go toward clinical trials for the drug in bipolar depression.
LB had $14.2 million in cash on hand as of the end of June, which was enough to run operations for the next 12 months, according to the IPO paperwork.
The biotech sector has not seen an IPO in six months. The market has remained frozen amid broader macro pressures and the performance of companies in the years prior. A few biotechs went out earlier in the year but their shares have tumbled, such as Aardvark Therapeutics, which is down -38% since its debut.
With the capital markets off limits, biotechs have been struggling to survive and pursuing alternative funding mechanisms like royalty financings, private equity and special purpose acquisitions company deals.
