Seizing the day, RA-backed Acumen tests market’s appetite for Alzheimer’s approach

Three years after reviving a program that emerged from a 2003 collaboration with Merck & Co., Acumen has tapped the public markets for a $160 million offering to fund clinical work on its mAb targeting β-amyloid oligomers to treat Alzheimer’s disease.

Acumen Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ABOS) received a warm initial reception from investors, rising $4.10 (26%) to $20.10 after pricing 10 million shares at $16. Its postmoney valuation was $618.4 million; with the gains, its market cap rose to about $777 million...