Week of May 1, 2026

The Week at a Glance:

• Biotech M&A Surge: Last week saw four deals over $1B, demonstrating meaningful momentum in biotech M&A as big pharma continues replenishing portfolios ahead of looming patent expirations

• Eli Lilly’s Sixth Acquisition This Year: Eli Lilly’s acquisition of Ajax Therapeutics, in a deal worth up to $2.3B, marks the Company’s sixth announced or completed acquisition this year and its fifth with a total deal value exceeding $1B

• Biotech Capital Markets Activity Remains Strong: Follow-on offerings totaled $1.4B as markets rewarded companies with positive clinical data, including Veradermics’ male pattern hair loss results and Oruka Therapeutics’ moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis data, while Avalyn, Seaport, and Hemab priced their IPOs at the top end of their proposed range 

   

Markets Overview

The S&P 500, the Nasdaq, and Dow were up 0.9%, 1.1%, and 0.5%, respectively, over the last week

• Strong earnings from several Magnificent 7 companies further improved market sentiment despite broader macroeconomic concerns  

The NYSE Pharma Index was up 2.5%, while the NBI was down 1.7% over the last week

Notable changes in share price:

• Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ: ESPR): Shares jumped 63.7% after the Company announced that they were to be acquired by ARCHIMED for up to $1.1B

• KalVista (NASDAQ: KALV): Shares rose 37.0% after the Company announced that they were to be acquired by Chiesi for $1.9B

• Veradermics (NASDAQ:MANE): Shares rose 48.9% after the Company announced positive data from their Phase 2/3 trial in male pattern hair loss

Sources: Pitchbook, Biomedtracker, and CapIQ

Equity Markets

IPO

There were no new S-1s filed, however three companies completed their IPO last week:

• Avalyn Pharma raised $300.0M in an upsized IPO to advance AP01, an optimized inhaled formulation of pirfenidone, through Phase 2b topline data and into Phase 3 development for progressive pulmonary fibrosis; AP02, an optimized inhaled formulation of nintedanib, through Phase 2 and into Phase 3 development for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis; and AP03, an inhaled fixed-dose combination of pirfenidone and nintedanib, into Phase 1 development

• Seaport Therapeutics raised $254.9M in an upsized IPO to advance SPT-300, a Glyph allopregnanolone for major depressive disorder; SPT-320, a Glyph agomelatine for generalized anxiety disorder; and SPT-348, a Glyph 2-bromo-LSD for multiple indications, including depressive disorders, treatment-resistant depression, PTSD, and headache disorders

• Hemab Therapeutics raised $301.5M in an upsized IPO to advance sutacimig, formerly HMB-001, for Glanzmann thrombasthenia and Factor VII deficiency; and HMB-002, a monovalent antibody designed to increase endogenous von Willebrand Factor and Factor VIII levels for von Willebrand disease

IPOs priced in 2025 and 2026 have generated a median and average return of 4.2% and 19.6% YTD, respectively.

After-Market Performance by Stage

• Clinical-stage after-market performance (N=18): 45.7% (average), 49.9% (median)

• Commercial-stage after-market performance (N=24): (3.0%) (average), (10.4%) (median)

After-Market Performance by Sector

• Biopharma (N=18): 49.7% (average), 43.4% (median)

• MedTech (N=23): (8.8%) (average), (13.0%) (median)

  
  

Follow On

There were six follow-on equity offerings totaling $1.4B last week, including:

• Sagimet Biosciences (Nasdaq: SGMT) announced a $175.0M underwritten offering of Series A common stock to fund a Phase 3 clinical trial for denifanstat, an oral FASN inhibitor, in moderate-to-severe acne; advance TVB-3567 through Phase 2 topline results; and progress a topical FASN inhibitor formulation to IND submission

• Rein Therapeutics (Nasdaq: RNTX) announced a $50.0M underwritten public offering of common stock to fully fund its ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial of LTI-03, a novel synthetic peptide with a dual mechanism targeting alveolar epithelial cell survival and inhibition of profibrotic signaling, for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis through completion

• Oruka Therapeutics (Nasdaq: ORKA) announced a $700.4M upsized underwritten public offering to fund general corporate purposes, including R&D and working capital, supporting its long-acting monoclonal antibody pipeline for psoriasis and other inflammatory and immunology indications, including ORKA-001, an IL-23p19-targeting antibody for plaque psoriasis, and ORKA-002, an IL-17A/F-targeting antibody for plaque psoriasis, hidradenitis suppurativa, psoriatic arthritis, and other conditions

• Veradermics (NYSE: MANE) announced a $414.4M upsized public offering and concurrent private placement, supporting advancement of VDPHL01, its lead oral, non-hormonal extended-release formulation of minoxidil for men and women with pattern hair loss, as well as broader development of its aesthetic dermatology pipeline targeting high-prevalence dermatologic conditions

• Intellia Therapeutics (Nasdaq: NTLA) announced a $180.0M underwritten public offering to advance clinical development of its lead CRISPR-based gene-editing programs, including lonvoguran ziclumeran for hereditary angioedema and nexiguran ziclumeran for ATTR amyloidosis, prepare for commercial launch of its lead programs, support R&D for other pipeline candidates and potential acquisitions, and fund working capital

• GH Research (Nasdaq: GHRS) announced a $117.5M underwritten offering to strategically invest in research, clinical and technical development of current and/or additional product candidates in the US and overseas, including its mebufotenin-based depression pipeline led by GH001, a proprietary inhaled mebufotenin product candidate for treatment-resistant depression, as well as GH002, an intravenous mebufotenin candidate

PIPE/RDO Markets:

There were three PIPEs/RDOs last week raising an aggregate of $143.7M

• Climb Bio (Nasdaq: CLYM) announced an $110.0M private placement to fund continued advancement of its immune-mediated disease pipeline, including late-stage development of budoprutug, an anti-CD19 monoclonal antibody for B-cell mediated diseases, and CLYM116, an anti-APRIL monoclonal antibody for IgA nephropathy

• Cue Biopharma (Nasdaq: CUE) announced a $30.0M private placement to fund advancement of its clinical pipeline, including the acquisition and development of Ascendant-221, a Phase 2 dual-mechanism anti-IgE monoclonal antibody licensed from Ascendant Health Sciences for allergic diseases

Licensing

M & A

Venture Financing

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