Biotech IPOs needed a win, and they got one on Friday with Rapport Therapeutics (RAPP).
After two months without a biotech IPO, Rapport priced its offering at the midpoint to raise $136 million, and traded up 22.4%.
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Before Friday, eight sizable biotechs and clinical-stage device developers had gone public this year, averaging a significant negative return. Of the group, only the year's first biotech IPO, CG Oncology (CGON), had delivered a decent return, and even it was below the first-day close. That string of poor trading likely chilled demand for new biotech issues over the past two months.
In the week ahead, commercial-stage drug developer Telix Pharmaceuticals (TLX) plans to raise $200 million in a US IPO. Telix is currently listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. And in another positive development for the space, sizable biotech Alumis (ALMS) filed for a $100+ million IPO late on Friday.
Rapport's business
Backed by Third Rock Ventures, Arch Venture, and J&J, Rapport is developing small molecule therapies for difficult-to-treat neurological diseases by targeting the receptor associated protein rather than the receptors themselves. Its primary indication is focal epilepsy, and plans to begin a Phase 2 trial later this year, before it begins additional trials for peripheral neuropathic pain and bipolar disorder.
