Shares of MBX Biosciences (MBX.O), which is developing therapies that target endocrine and metabolic disorders, including diabetes and obesity, jumped nearly 44% in their Nasdaq debut on Friday.
The upbeat debut underscores investors' growing focus on weight-loss drugs after proving to be an effective obesity treatment and showing potential to reduce stroke or heart attack risks.
The stock opened at $23 apiece, valuing the biotech firm at about $694 million.
MBX said on Thursday it had raised $163.2 million by selling 10.2 million shares at $16 apiece — the high-end of its targeted range of $14 to $16 each — in its initial public offering.
The U.S. IPO market is on a route to recovery, albeit uneven, after a two-year dry spell, on hopes of a possible rate cut by the Federal Reserve and lower market volatility.
MBX's success fares well for the IPO market that went into a traditional summer lull following the debut of cold storage real estate investment trust Lineage (LINE.O) in July, the biggest this year.
MBX's lead experimental candidate, MBX 2109, is being developed to treat chronic hypoparathyroidism — a condition in which the body produces insufficient levels of parathyroid hormone that disrupts calcium levels in the blood and bones.
The company is also developing MBX 4291, an experimental therapy for the treatment of obesity. The therapy mimics the effect of two gut hormones, GLP-1 and GIP.
Eli Lilly's (LLY.N) tirzepatide, sold as Zepbound for weight loss and Mounjaro for diabetes in the United States, also mimics the function of these two gut hormones.
Wall Street estimates annual global sales of $150 billion for weight-loss drugs by the early 2030s.
Separately, Bristol-Myers Squibb-backed Zenas BioPharma also debuted on the Nasdaq, with its shares rising nearly 8%.
