Just a few days after Rapport Therapeutics revealed plans for a $122 million IPO, the epilepsy biotech has unveiled an upsized $154 million offering.
The Third Rock company’s IPO consists of 8 million shares, with a previous range set for $16 to $18 per share. Now, the biotech has debuted at $17 per share, an offering expected to close June 10. Shares are listed under the symbol “RAPP.”
Rapport anticipates net proceeds to be $154 million, excluding the money that could come from underwriters exercising their option to purchase additional shares.
Proceeds will go toward advancing RAP-219 into proof-of-concept trials for focal epilepsy, peripheral neuropathic pain and bipolar disorder. The TARPg8 AMPAR program has already completed two phase 1 trials in healthy volunteers.
Rapport is one of the few biotechs to make the public market plunge in recent months. Initially revealed June 3, Rapport’s public proposal was swiftly followed by one from radiopharma-focused Telix Pharmaceuticals, an Australian biotech that announced plans for a $200 million U.S. IPO on June 5.
Biopharma IPOs jumped after the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in January, with a $380 million debut from CG Oncology and Kyverna Therapeutics’ $319 million offering. However, that uptick was followed by a slump at the end of the first quarter, according to PitchBook.
A dearth of quality companies may be contributing to the decline in IPO momentum, rather than of a lack of funding to enter the public markets, according to the analyst.
Over the past year, many companies doing midstage testing received funding. Those companies still need time to progress their clinical data, setting up the possibility of another IPO window opening before the end of 2024.