Biotech IPO Shares Climb in Trading Debuts After Deals Upsized

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

Bicara Therapeutics Inc. shares climbed 42% to $25.50 apiece as of 1:22 p.m. on Friday. The company had expanded its IPO to sell 17.5 million shares at $18 each, at the top of the price range, to raise $315 million, according to a statement.

Shares of MBX Biosciences Inc. rose 43% to $22.87 each. Its enlarged first-time share sale raised $163 million, pricing 10.2 million shares at $16 each at the upper limit of the price range.

Zenas BioPharma Inc. shares increased 4.4% to $17.75 each. The IPO raised $225 million, priced at $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 $2.7 billion, a nearly 60% jump from the same period in 2023, the data show.

The IPOs came as a boost to the sector after a string of lackluster deals. Drug developers that had raised more than $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 show.

Zenas makes therapies for patients living with autoimmune diseases, its filing shows. 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 Co.’s beneficial ownership in the company is set to fall to 3.7% after the offering, compared with 5.3% beforehand, the filing shows.

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

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

Zenas and MBX trade on the Nasdaq Global Select market under the symbols ZBIO and MBX respectively. Bicara trades on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol BCAX.

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