Week of September 11, 2026

The Week at a Glance:

• Rate hike concerns and clinical setbacks pressure biotech: Biotech equities underperformed broader indices last week as hotter-than-expected core CPI revived rate-hike concerns, while sentiment was further weighed down by Novartis’ Phase 3 del-desiran failure and Novo Nordisk’s discontinuation of two Phase 3 ziltivekimab trials

• Novartis’ $12B Avidity acquisition faces early setback: Novartis’ Phase 3 HARBOR trial of del-desiran in myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) failed its primary endpoint, sending shares down 14.2% and raising questions around one of the centerpiece assets acquired through its $12B purchase of Avidity Biosciences

• Large private financings demonstrate continued biotech investor appetite: VC financing remained robust, with Encoded Therapeutics raising $275M, Solstice Oncology $225M, BrainChild Bio $116M and Moonwalk Biosciences $70M, representing ~$686M of financing across four companies

• DNB Carnegie Back Bay has released our latest Healthcare Sector Outlook, which examines the continued reopening of healthcare markets and the factors that will determine whether that momentum will carry into 2027. View “Vital Signs” and download the report on our website: Vital Signs

   

Markets Overview

The S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow were down 0.8%, 0.7%, and 1.6%, respectively, over the last week

• Equities declined on the week as core CPI rose 0.3% in August, its largest monthly increase since April and above the 0.2% consensus estimate, reinforcing expectations for tighter Fed policy.

The NYSE Pharma Index and NBI were down 3.8% and 4.3%, respectively, over the last week

Notable change in share price:

• Roivant (NASDAQ: ROIV): Shares rose 20.0% after the Company announced positive results from its Phase 2 study evaluating mosliciguat, an activator of soluble guanylate cyclase, in PH-ILD

• Biohaven (NYSE: BHVN): Shares fell 18.5% after the FDA placed enrollment in trials of epilepsy candidate BHV-7000 on hold following findings in rodent toxicology studies, impacting an asset subject to a pending licensing deal with SK Biopharmaceuticals that includes a $350M upfront payment

• Novartis (NYSE: NVS): Shares fell 14.2% after the Phase 3 HARBOR trial of del-desiran in DM1 failed to demonstrate a statistically significant improvement versus placebo on its primary endpoint, representing a major setback for a key asset acquired through Novartis’ $12B acquisition of Avidity Biosciences

Sources: Pitchbook, Biomedtracker, and CapIQ

Equity Markets

IPO

There was no biotech IPOs priced or S-1s filed last week

IPOs priced in 2025 and 2026 have generated a median and average return of 15.8% and 31.4% YTD, respectively

After-Market Performance by Stage:

• Clinical-stage after-market performance: 36.3% (average), 7.0% (median)

• Commercial-stage after-market performance: 26.6% (average), 19.7% (median)

After-Market Performance by Sector:

• Biopharma: 46.3% (average), 7.0% (median)

• MedTech: 26.6% (average), 19.7% (median)
  

Follow On

There were two follow-on offerings last week totaling $358.7M

• Yarrow Bioscience (NASDAQ: YARW) priced a $150.0M public offering, with gross proceeds of up to $172.5M if the underwriters' option is exercised in full, to fund R&D across its autoimmune thyroid disease pipeline and support working capital and general corporate purposes

• Axogen (NASDAQ: AXGN) priced a $208.7M public offering, with gross proceeds of up to ~$240M if the underwriters' option is exercised in full, primarily to fund its $200M acquisition of BioCircuit Technologies and support working capital and general corporate purposes

PIPE/RDO

There were no PIPEs last week

Licensing

M&A

Venture Financing

Advanced modalities, platform technologies and experienced management teams continue to attract strong investor interest