Just hours after the US Federal Reserve
announced the first interest rate cut in four years
, respiratory biotech Upstream Bio revealed plans for a public listing.
The Boston-area biotech unveiled its investor prospectus on Wednesday afternoon, saying it plans to trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker
$UPB
. The biotech is developing a drug called verekitug, a TSLP receptor antagonist, for severe asthma and a form of chronic rhinosinusitis, with plans to go after the large market of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
After a chilly few months in the market, signs of life are emerging with biotech IPOs — and are likely to be helped by falling interest rates. Three companies
listed last week
, and this week the obesity startup BioAge said it plans to raise about $120 million in an upcoming IPO.
William Blair healthcare banker Kevin Eisele told
Endpoints News
this week that he doesn’t expect “a mad rush out of the gates before year-end, but I do think we’ll see some sustained IPO activity until the new year and likely more in 2025.”
The startup’s TSLP target has competition. Amgen and AstraZeneca sell the asthma drug Tezspire, although Upstream said its treatment candidate targets the receptor, a different method than the approved medicine. And Blackstone is betting up to $300 million on a company called Uniquity Bio, which is taking forward a former Merck atopic dermatitis asset, also targeting TSLP, that the company is repositioning for asthma and COPD.
Upstream had $235 million in cash, equivalents and short-term investments at the end of June, according to its SEC filing. It disclosed a $200 million Series B in June 2023, about 12 months after disclosing its first $200 million round.
It spent $25.7 million on R&D in the first half of this year, about double the $12.4 million it spent developing its drug in the same period last year.
Upstream’s biggest shareholder is OrbiMed, which owns about 13%. Other investors with 5% or more are: AI Upstream, Altshuler Shaham Provident Funds and Pension, Decheng Capital, TCG Crossover, HBM Healthcare, Maruho Deutschland, Enavate Sciences, Samsara BioCapital, Omega, Bain Capital Life Sciences and Venrock.
