Week of January 30, 2026

The Week at a Glance:

• Warsh’s Potential Effect on Biotech: Trump’s pick of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed Chair likely matters less through “cuts vs. hikes” and more through real yields, volatility, and credit spreads that shape the issuance window. If he’s a credibility anchor that tightens risk premia, SMID biotech can outperform; if term premium stays high and conditions tighten, biotech likely lags defensives

• The Fed Holds Rates Steady: After three consecutive rate cuts, the Fed left rates unchanged, commenting on the positive state of the economy with regards to both growth and stabilizing labor markets

• Obesity and China In-Licensing Remain Dominant Themes: AstraZeneca signed a multi-asset licensing deal with CSPC Pharmaceutical Group worth up to $18.5B (including $1.2B upfront) spanning eight programs, highlighted by a clinical-ready GLP-1R/GIPR agonist plus three preclinical assets

• New Vital Signs Political Economy Update Coming Soon: Be on the lookout for the latest executive summary from the Investment Banking Division of DNB Carnegie | Back Bay to be published soon

• 1x1 Meeting Requests Now Open for NAHC 2026: Our platform is now open for 1x1 meeting requests at the 10th Annual Nordic-American Healthcare Conference on March 25-26, 2026. We look forward to joining with our US-Nordic partners in New York this spring. Learn more here.

Markets Overview

The S&P 500 was up 0.3%, while the Nasdaq and Dow were down 0.2% and 0.4%

• The XBI has outperformed broader indices for three consecutive months, coinciding with increased early-stage IPO preparation activity, including companies drafting filings and selecting underwriters

• Market reactions to the initial Q4 earning reports were mixed, with Microsoft trading down 7.5% on the week due to concerns with high capex spend and slower cloud computing growth

The NYSE Pharma Index was up 0.3%, while the NBI was down 1.4%

Notable changes in share price:

• Fractyl Health (NASDAQ: GUTS): Shares dropped 78.8% after the Company reported six-month weight loss maintenance data that failed to show statistical significance in reducing post-tirzepatide weight regain at six months. There is still significant opportunity for therapies in the maintenance setting

Sources: Pitchbook, Biomedtracker, and CapIQ

Equity Markets

IPO Markets:

No companies completed an IPO or filed an S-1.

Three companies in the IPO queue are targeting raises at or above ~$100M

1/16/2026
AgomAb Therapeutics  ~$100.0 Intended Raised

1/16/2026
SpyGlass Pharma  ~$159.4 Intended Raised

1/9/2026
Eikon Therapeutics  ~$274.0 Intended Raised

20 additional companies in the IPO queue are pursuing raises below $40M

IPOs priced in 2025 and 2026 have generated a median and average return of 2.2% and 13.1% YTD, respectively, suggesting overall performance has been skewed by a small number of outsized winners. Notably, ~50% of newly public companies are trading above their offer price

After-Market Performance by Stage

• Clinical-stage after-market performance (N=10): 27.2% (average), 12.5% (median)

• Commercial-stage after-market performance (N=24): 12.2% (average), (2.6%) (median)

After-Market Performance by Sector

• Biopharma (N=12): 9.0% (average), 4.1% (median)

• MedTech (N=23): 15.0% (average), 0.4% (median)

Follow-On Offering Markets:

There were four follow-on equity offerings totaling $732.5M last week, including:

• Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ: PCVX) raised $550.0M to support clinical development of its pneumococcal conjugate vaccine portfolio, including VAX-31 (31-valent carrier-sparing PCV) in Phase 3 for prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease and pneumonia in adults and Phase 2 for infants

• ALX Oncology Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: ALXO) raised $120.9M to support continued clinical development of its immuno-oncology pipeline, including evorpacept (CD47-blocking antibody) in Phase 2 for gastric/GEJ cancer, Phase 1 for urothelial cancer, and combination studies across multiple solid tumors

• Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: LXRX) raised $41.6M to fund continued commercialization and R&D of its drug candidates, which includes INPEFA (sotagliflozin), approved to reduce CV-related death or hospitalization in patients with heart failure and related risk factors and currently in Phase 3 studies for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

PIPE/RDO Markets:

There were four PIPEs/RDOs last week that raised an aggregate of $152.3M, including:

• Sensorion (EPA: ALSEN) raised $71.6M to fund the development of SENS-601 (GJB2-GT), a gene therapy targeting hearing loss associated with GJB2 mutations, and SENS-501, which targets deafness caused by mutations of the gene encoding for otoferlin

• Altimmune (NASDAQ: ALT) raised $70.7M to fund preparation for its upcoming Phase 3 trial in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis as well as for working capital and general corporate purposes

Licensing

M & A

Venture Financing

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