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Biotech Deals Alert

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Shares of Belgian immunology and inflammatory biotech Agomab Therapeutics fell Friday in the company's public market debut.

The big picture: Agomab's stumble underscores the uneven reopening of the biotech IPO market after months of muted investor demand.

By the numbers: The company raised $200 million in its IPO at $16 per share on Thursday. Its stock opened around $14 on Friday and was down 11% by mid-afternoon.

State of play: Meanwhile, SpyGlass Pharma shares rose 5% in their debut today, while Eikon Therapeutics is down 10% since Thursday's debut, and Veradermics is up 7% since going public Wednesday.

Overall, the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index has risen nearly 45% over the last six months, while the S&P 500 is up just 8% over the same time period.

What they're saying: "This week's activity points to a bifurcated reopening," PitchBook analyst Ben Zercher said in a statement. "Maintaining pricing discipline will be critical to keeping that window open to enable capital recycling from public markets back to early-stage, venture-backed startups."

"There's a lot of high-quality companies, good innovation that have been waiting to access the public markets," says Agomab CEO Tim Knotnerus.

Zoom in: Agomab needed capital to move its two lead assets, which Knotnerus says are "de-risked," through the regulatory process.

How it works: Agomab's lead drug candidate, Ontunisertib, or AGMB-129, is a Phase 2 oral small molecule for the treatment of Fibrostenosing Crohn's disease. 

Results are expected in the second half of this year.

What's next: Agomab is open to partnership deals with Big Pharma, Knotnerus says, but he was mum on the company's interest in being acquired. 

Agomab shares slide in public market debut

Upcoming trial results could shape future sentiment on the stock.

Illustration of a pipette dropping droplets of coins into a test tube.

Shares of Belgian immunology and inflammatory biotech Agomab Therapeutics fell Friday in the company&#x27;s public market debut.The big picture: Agomab&#x27;s stumble underscores the uneven reopening of the biotech IPO market after months of muted investor demand.

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Agomab shares slide in public market debut

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