Weeks of March 20 & 27, 2026

The Week at a Glance:

• Geopolitics and Energy Drive Volatility: The ongoing Iran conflict has continued to create uncertainty in the markets and caused energy prices to remain elevated, driving global inflationary pressures

• Merck Places Another Large Bet: Merck acquired Terns Pharmaceuticals for $6.7B, a CML-focused company with an oral next-generation allosteric BCR::ABL1 inhibitor that has shown a highly competitive clinical profile in early clinical studies

• T-Cell Engagers in Autoimmune Indications: Gilead’s $2.2B acquisition of Ouro and Sanofi’s licensing deal with Kali Therapeutics underscore the continued interest in T-cell engagers and adjacent mechanisms, such as in-vivo CAR-T for autoimmune diseases

• Continued IPO Activity: Kailera Therapeutics, which is developing weight loss therapies, and Alamar Biosciences, a proteomics company, both filed to go public and expect to raise up to ~$100M

• That’s a Wrap on NAHC 2026: Thank you to everyone who joined us for the DNB Carnegie Back Bay 10th Annual Nordic-American Healthcare Conference at A&O Shearman in New York on March 25-26, 2026. It was an excellent year of company presentations and meetings with healthcare leaders from the Nordics and the US. We look forward to seeing you all again next year at NAHC 2027. 

   

Markets Overview

The S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow were down (4.9%), (6.4%), and (3.8%), respectively over the last two weeks

• The Iran conflict continues to impact markets, with elevated oil prices creating inflationary pressures that have fueled fears of a potential rate hike later this year

The NYSE Pharma Index and NBI were down (4.0%) and (3.9%) over the last two weeks

Notable changes in share price:

• Kodiak Sciences (NASDAQ: KOD): Shares jumped 62.6% after the Company announced positive topline results in their Phase 3 study in diabetic retinopathy

• Ovid Therapeutics (NASDAQ: OVID): Shares rose 33.0% after the Company announced safety, tolerability, and PK data for its GABA-aminotransferase inhibitor, along with other pipeline updates

Sources: Pitchbook, Biomedtracker, and CapIQ

Equity Markets

Two companies filed an S1 during the last two weeks:

• Kailera Therapeutics plans to raise up to ~$100M to advance clinical development of its obesity pipeline assets

• Alamar Biosciences plans to raise up to ~$100M to fund the development and commercialization of their proteomics technologies

All 24 additional companies in the IPO queue are pursuing raises below $40.0M

IPOs priced in 2025 and 2026 have generated a median and average return of (7.6%) and 8.2% YTD, respectively. Half of newly public companies are trading above their offer price

After-Market Performance by Stage

• Clinical-stage after-market performance (N=16): 15.8% (average), (5.3%) (median)

• Commercial-stage after-market performance (N=24): 3.9% (average), (12.3%) (median)

After-Market Performance by Sector

• Biopharma (N=17): 11.5% (average), (10.5%) (median)

• MedTech (N=23): 5.9% (average), (7.6%) (median)

Follow-On Offering Markets:

There were 16 follow-on equity offerings totaling $903.2M last week, including:

• Apogee Therapeutics (NASDAQ: APGE) raised $350.0M to fund continued clinical development of its inflammation and immunology pipeline, led by APG777 (zumilokibart) in Phase 2 for atopic dermatitis

• CytomX Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CTMX) raised $243.8M to support ongoing development of its PROBODY oncology biologics portfolio, including ADC and T-cell engager programs

• SAB Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ: SABS) raised $74.4M to advance SAB-142 in Phase 2b for autoimmune type 1 diabetes and for general corporate purposes

• Zenas BioPharma (NASDAQ: ZBIO) raised $100.0M to support clinical development of obexelimab across multiple immunology indications and broader pipeline execution

PIPE/RDO Markets:

There were 11 PIPEs/RDOs last week raising an aggregate of $355.5M, including:

• Alto Neuroscience announced a $120.0M private placement to support the development of ALTO-207, a fixed-dose combination of pramipexole + ondansetron, through a planned Phase 3 clinical trial in treatment-resistant depression (TRD), as well as working capital and general corporate purposes; The PIPE was led by Commodore Capital, with participation from Dellora Investments, Driehaus Capital Management, Perceptive Advisors, Spruce Street Capital, Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners, Vestal Point Capital, and a large biotech dedicated investor

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