Why Acelyrin was able to generate outsized demand for its $540M IPO

Acelyrin may have been an outlier compared with most other companies eyeing the IPO queue, but its $540 million NASDAQ offering priced late Thursday showed how strong demand can be for shares of a biotech whose lead candidate has already generated promising mid-stage clinical data.

Investors have generally told BioCentury they don’t expect many IPOs this half, although some believe biotechs will receive warmer receptions on the public markets in 2H23. All three companies that have priced offerings larger than $20 million thus far in 2023 were in the clinic, and two had at least reached Phase II trials of pipeline products...