Drug developer ADARx seeks $1.74 billion valuation in US IPO

ADARx's experimental drugs target diseases related to immunity, kidney, cardiovascular and neurological systems. Three of its programs are in clinical testing and two are in advanced preclinical development.

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

San Diego-based ADARx, founded in 2019, is aiming to raise up to $371.9 million by offering 21.9 million shares priced between $15 and $17.

The IPO comes even as a sharp rise in Treasury yields and higher interest rates have nudged some prospective issuers to the sidelines, although biotech offerings have broadly rebounded from year-ago levels.

Drug developers Retension Pharmaceuticals and TRex Bio filed for their listings on Friday while Electra Therapeutics (ETRA.O) debuted in the market after raising $350 million in an upsized IPO.

According to Muehlbauer, however, the reopening of the biotech IPO market is still selective — favouring companies with later-stage assets, upcoming catalysts and exposure to areas such as obesity and oncology.

"Sentiment has also been helped by big pharma's appetite for external innovation," he said. Prospects of acquisitions of even relatively new biotechs mean a potential route to returns for investors despite higher rates.

JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, TD Cowen, among others, are the underwriters for the offering. It will list on the Nasdaq under the symbol