Biotechs queue up for IPOs as window cracks open

Is the biotechnology IPO market back? It depends on whom you ask. By Feb. 15, seven biopharma companies had held initial public offerings, raising a combined total of 1. 2 billion. So far, so good. But experts say it may be too early to tell whether their performance is a bellwether for the rest of the year. Diabetes and weight-loss drug developer Fractyl Health, psychiatric drugmaker Alto Neuroscience, cancer drug developers ArriVent Biopharma and CG Oncology, gene-editing firm Metagenomi, immunology company Kyverna Therapeutics, and hemochromatosis drug developer Telomir Pharmaceuticals have all held IPOs, with only Fractyl and Metagenomi trading significantly below their opening price. "It's a positive sign, unlocking a market that's been pretty much closed for the last couple years, " says Stacie Aarestad, a partner and cochair of the capital markets practice at Foley Hoag. "There's some light coming through. . . but not enough to give you comfort