Obesity drug Manufacturer BioAge Labs Expects $587 mln valuation in US IPO

BioAge Labs: On Wednesday in a regulatory statement, BioAge Labs which is a biotech company that focuses on obesity said that it plans to raise up to $587 million through public subscription in the US IPO market.

The expert said that this year will be perfect for companies to go public as the US IPO market is subdued in 2024. Furthermore, Healthcare companies have shown pretty good performance this year.

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This year, several other biotech companies listed their shares and BioAge Labs is among them. The rise in the listing of biotech companies comes after Wall Street became more interested in anti-obesity drug developers and supported by venture capital giants.

Last week, shares of MBX Biosciences (MBX.O) reached new heights, the shares went up by 44% in their Nasdaq. MBX Biosciences focuses on developing several therapies that treat the problems of diabetes and obesity.

Currently, Bioage is developing an experimental drug ‘azelaprag’ which will treat obesity. This experimental drug is being developed in combination with GLP-1 agonists like Eli Lilly’s (LLY.N), Zepbound and Novo Nordisk’s.

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Experts also predicted that the weight loss drugs market could reach up to a valuation of $150 billion by the 2030s.

The company has already started the mid-stage trial with Zepbound and also plans to do the same with Wegovy at the beginning of 2025. BioAge reports that it plans to use the funds raised through public subscriptions to advance the development of the experimental drug ‘azelaprag’ into late-stage.

The decision to launch the IPO comes after BioAge raised $170 million through a funding round managed by life sciences investment company Sofinnova Investments.

Sofinnova Investments currently holds 7.3% beneficial ownership in the company. After the issue of shares, it plans to reduce its ownership to 5.3%.

BioAge Labs plans to list its shares on the Nasdaq under the symbol “BIOA” and the issue underwriters are Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Jefferies and Citigroup.

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