Biotechnology IPO "Thawing"! LB Pharmaceuticals (LBRX.US) IPO priced at $14-16 per share, aiming to raise $250 million.

Biotechnology company LB Pharmaceuticals (LBRX.US), dedicated to developing drugs for neurological and psychiatric disorders, announced the pricing terms of its IPO on Monday. The New York-based company plans to issue 16.7 million shares at a price range of $14 to $16 per share, raising $250 million. Based on the midpoint of the proposed price range, LB Pharmaceuticals will have a market value of $301.5 million. The IPO will represent 83% of the company's issued common shares. The company plans to accelerate its roadshow and is expected to price later this week. LB Pharmaceuticals is expected to break the longest biotechnology IPO winter in over a decade and become the first large-scale biotechnology IPO since Aardvark Therapeutics (AARD.US) went public in February 2025. The industry has been plagued by poor performance, especially in 2024 when biotechnology IPOs on average fell 38% below their offering prices, but performance has improved in recent months. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index is up 10.8% year-to-date and has risen 28.0% from its low point in April, roughly returning to pre-election levels in the US. The company's lead candidate drug, LB-102, is an oral small molecule drug slated to enter Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of acute schizophrenia, a chronic disease characterized by hallucinations and delusions that affects approximately 1% of the US population. In a Phase II clinical trial involving 359 patients, the drug met its primary endpoint by the fourth week. LB Pharmaceuticals expects to begin Phase III clinical trials in the first quarter of 2026. Founded in 2015, LB Pharmaceuticals plans to list on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "LBRX." Leerink Partners, Piper Sandler, and Stifel are the joint bookrunners for the offering. The company is expected to price later in the week of September 8, 2025.