Anyone wanting to end the week on a hopeful note could do worse than check out the duo of biotech IPOs that made it over the line. RayzeBio has just revealed it overshot expectations by raising $311 million, while Neumora Therapeutics was squarely on target with a $250 million offering.
Radiopharmaceuticals-focused RayzeBio unveiled plans Monday to offer 13.2 million shares at a range of between $16 and $18 apiece. Assuming the final share price fell in the middle of that range, the biotech was looking at a haul of around $210 million.
But in an announcement Thursday evening, the company revealed those expectations have been exceeded. Not only did RayzeBio secure an $18 share price, but the upsized offering sold 16.1 million shares. Combined with over a million shares sold off by another stockholder, the company is now looking at a $311 million IPO, with gross proceeds of around $290 million once expenses are deducted.
The extra $80 million to play with is good news for RayzeBio's lead program RYZ101, which is in phase 3 development for gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. And there’s potentially still further to go, with underwriters granted a 30-day option to pick up 2.6 million additional shares at the same price.
Neumora’s IPO brought in a respectable $250 million—bang on the biotech's estimate. The neurological-disease-focused company found buyers for 14.7 million shares of its common stock at a price of $17, the midpoint of the $16 to $18 range set out Monday. Underwriters will also be able to buy up to another 2.2 million shares.
Since emerging in 2021 with the blessing of Amgen, Neumora has expanded its pipeline to encompass nine investigational programs. They include the phase 3 med navacaprant in development for major depressive disorder and other neuropsychiatric disorders. Other areas of interest include Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia.
The addition of Neumora and RayzeBio to the Nasdaq this morning is a welcome reminder that while biotech IPOs have dropped in the face of a tough bear market, there remains an appetite among investors to see some promising companies go public.