Biotech Frenzy Dominates IPOs

​A busy week for IPOs had major involvement from biotech firms. Six biotech firms made their exchange debuts: Eidos Therapeutics, Aptinyx, Magenta Therapeutics, Xeris Pharmaceuticals, Kezar Life Sciences, and AVROBIO. There was also a single non-healthcare transaction: i3 Verticals, a Nashville-based fintech company

• IPOs last week started with Eidos Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: EIDX), who raised $106.3 million during their offering Wednesday. Eidos is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the widely unmet need in diseases caused by transthyrelin (TTR) amyloidosis.

• Aptinyx, Inc. (NASDAQ: APTX) raised $102 million in their debut Thursday. Aptinyx is developing novel small molecule therapeutics for neurological disorders. The treatments can enhance neural cell communication.

• Magenta Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MGTA) made their initial public offering Thursday, raising $100 million dollars. Magenta is working on medicines that can transform bone marrow transplants to make them more effective.

• Also Thursday, Xeris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: XERS) raised $85.5 million. Xeris is creating innovative solutions to the old-form delivery of injectable pharmaceuticals. The firm uses novel technology to develop ready-to-use liquid-stable injectables.

• Kezar Life Sciences, Inc. (KZR), a Silicon Valley biotech firm, raised $75 million in their NASDAQ debut. Kezar is a clinical stage lab, discovering and developing novel small molecule therapeutics to treat autoimmune and cancerous diseases.

• AVROBIO, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVRO) beat their own expectations in their IPO on Thursday. AVROBIO raised $100 million, after having planned to only raise $75 million. The formerly venture capital-backed firm is developing stem cell gene therapies to cure rare lysosomal storage diseases.

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• The lone fintech firm, i3 Verticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: IIIV), is a provider of integrated payment processing and related software services to small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in strategic vertical markets. The firm’s suite of payment solutions addresses the specific needs of SMBs. The IPO set the i3’s valuation at $332 million and raised $86 million for the Nashville company.