This past week saw the pricing of seven Initial Public Offerings (IPOs), with three of them raising more than $100 million each, marking a significant week for the stock market.
CG Oncology (CGON) stood out among the companies that went public. After revising the terms of its offering earlier in the week, CGON further upsized its offering and priced it above the initial range. This move allowed the company to raise a substantial $380 million, resulting in a market capitalization of $1.3 billion. CGON’s sole clinical asset, a treatment initially developed for a specific type of bladder cancer, is currently undergoing a Phase 3 trial. The company expects to have topline data from this trial by the end of 2024. If the trial proves successful, CGON believes it could form the basis for a Biologics License Application (BLA) submission. Investors responded positively to CGON’s IPO, with the company’s stock price surging 96% on its first day of trading and ending the week up 84%.
Another notable IPO was that of ArriVent BioPharma (AVBP), which plans to raise $150 million, giving it a market cap of $585 million. AVBP’s sole clinical candidate is a kinase inhibitor being developed for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This drug is designed to work across a broad set of epithelial growth factor receptor mutations (EGFRm). It is currently being evaluated in multiple trials, including a pivotal Phase 3 trial. AVBP expects to have topline data from this trial in 2025. AVBP’s IPO also received a positive response from the market, with the company’s stock price finishing the week up 11%.
These IPOs highlight the dynamic nature of the stock market and the significant role that biotech companies play in it. They also underscore the importance of clinical trials in the valuation of these companies and the optimism of investors about the potential of their clinical assets.
