ADARx Pharmaceuticals shares soar in Nasdaq debut after upsized IPO

Sept 25 — Shares of ADARx Pharmaceuticals rose 30% above their initial ​public offering price on Friday after the late-stage gene therapy developer raised $446.3 million in an upsized US ‌initial public offering.

The shares opened at $22.10, above their IPO price of $17. The ⁠San Diego-based firm sold 26.3 ​million shares at the ⁠top end of its marketed range, compared to an ‌earlier plan to ‌sell 21.9 million shares.

Biotech has emerged as a ⁠bright spot in this year's ⁠IPO market, with a steady flow of listings continuing into the fall as investors favor the sector's relative insulation from the Iran war and AI-driven disruption.

Drug developers City Therapeutics and Iambic Therapeutics filed for US ‌IPOs this week, while Retension Pharmaceuticals ​and TRex Bio filed for listings last week.

Electra Therapeutics also raised $350 million in an upsized US IPO before making its market debut last Friday. Its shares have fallen about 21% since.

Founded in 2019, ADARx's experimental drugs target diseases related to immunity, kidney, cardiovascular and neurological ​systems.

The company's most advanced candidate, onvuzosiran, is in late-stage ‌testing for hereditary ‌angioedema, ⁠a rare genetic disorder that causes sudden swelling attacks.

Drugmaker AbbVie has agreed to invest up to $100 million in a concurrent private placement, which would give it a roughly 4.9% ‌stake post-IPO, ADARx ​said.

J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, TD Cowen, ‌among others, are ⁠the underwriters ​for ADARx's offering.

(Reporting by Pragyan Kalita in Bengaluru; Editing by ​Shreya Biswas)

Related topics