IPO
Kalohexis is working on peptide therapies, including one for obesity that could offer an alternative approach to the GLP-1s that currently dominate the weight loss space.
A surprising deal from Vertex Pharmaceuticals adds to Big Pharma’s acquisitive streak as Crinetics folds into the cystic fibrosis drugmaker. Meanwhile, IPOs and venture capital raises trend upward, but mostly for derisked companies. Plus, FDA decisions slow only slightly as the hunt for a permanent leader drags on.
After debuting on the public markets with $256.3 million and raking in an additional $472 million, Veradermics has emerged as one of biotech’s biggest post-IPO standouts. CEO Reid Waldman credits the weight loss craze for establishing consumer-driven channels.
Scribe Therapeutics’ pipeline is immature, with its lead program recently greenlit for first-in-human testing. The biotech is working on CRISPR-based therapies for cardiometabolic diseases.
Dealmaking across biopharma is shifting dramatically as the SEC rolls out new regulations to ease burdens on newly public companies and antitrust review is replaced by drug pricing as the policy concern du jour.
Dual and even triple or quadruple track processes have come roaring back in 2026 thanks to a glut of M&A that has refilled investors’ wallets. Big Pharma is being put on notice that time is critical if they want to acquire.
Analysts are cautiously optimistic about an IPO rebound for biopharma. BioSpace is keeping track of companies that seek to trade on the public markets this year.
Moderna appears to have aligned with the FDA ahead of an advisory committee meeting for its mRNA-based flu vaccine, which the regulator initially turned away in February; biotech IPOs are going gangbusters, including two new records raises in as many weeks; layoffs continue across biopharma; plus much more.
Precision science is ruling the M&A scene as pharmas prepare for loss of exclusivity on key products, PwC says in a new report. Biotechs should be prepared with a dual-track process with the IPO window now open.
Biotechs are benefitting from the AI tech frenzy and inflation, but validated pipelines and careful planning are still key to the recent record-setting IPOs, experts say.
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