Lycia Therapeutics filed to go public on Monday, aiming to raise enough funds to advance a trio of therapeutics designed to degrade extracellular proteins linked to autoimmune, inflammatory and allergic diseases. The biotech joins the IPO queue about three months after raising a $75-million series D to support its portfolio of degraders. Lycia was co-founded by renowned protein expert and Nobel Laureate Carolyn Bertozzi in 2019, and emerged from stealth in 2020 with $50 million from founding investor Versant Ventures. Lilly inked a discovery deal with the biotech in 2021, then went on to back its $106.6-million series C in 2024.Four other firms have lined up to go public: TRex Bio, which laid plans for a $125-million offering on Monday; hypertension drug developer Retension Pharmaceuticals; City Therapeutics, which has its lead siRNA in Phase I testing for thromboembolic diseases; and AI-focused drug discovery company Iambic. The pace of biotech IPOs this year has far outstripped the number — and size — of offerings in 2025 (see – Spotlight On: Investors regain appetite for biotech IPOs).Degrader portfolioLycia has already launched a Phase I trial of lead candidate LCA-0061 in patients with atopic conditions and peanut allergy, according to ClinicalTrials.gov. The antibody-small molecule conjugate cataLYTAC degrader is designed to eliminate total and free IgE antibodies associated with allergic diseases like food allergy, allergic asthma, allergic rhinitis, chronic spontaneous urticaria and chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps. According to the biotech, several IgE blockers are available, such as Roche and Novartis' Xolair (omalizumab), but they do not completely remove IgE and have several other limitations, such as weight-based dosing and limited efficacy in patients with high baseline levels of the antibody. Because LCA-0061 targets extracellular IgE for lysosomal degradation, it can cycle in and out of the cell repeatedly to bind and eliminate multiple molecules per degrader. Early data from the Phase I study demonstrate a mean maximum IgE reduction of 96% from baseline in LCA-0061–treated patients, with the majority retaining that reduction for 28 days post-dose. No safety signals or dose-limiting toxicities have been observed.Behind LCA-0061 is a fast-follower bispecific, LCA-0062, in IND-enabling studies. It's similarly designed to degrade IgE, though with the added benefit of dosing flexibility and response duration. Outside of allergic diseases, Lycia is developing LCA‑0321 for Graves' disease. The protein-small molecule conjugate is designed to selectively degrade thyrotropin receptor antibodies (TRAbs), which drive the disease by activating thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR) expressed on the thyroid gland, resulting in an overactive thyroid.The candidate, in Phase I testing, could enable "a targeted, immune-sparing approach that has the potential to restore normal thyroid function without broad immunosuppression," Lycia said in its filing.
