Sept 13 (Askume) – MBX Biosciences (MBX.O) , which is developing treatments for endocrine and metabolic disorders including diabetes and obesity, jumped nearly 44% in its Nasdaq debut on Friday.
The upbeat launch underscores investors’ growing interest in weight-loss drugs, as they have proven effective in treating obesity and show the potential to reduce the risk of stroke or heart disease.
The stock opened at $23 per share, valuing the biotech company at approximately $694 million.
MBX said on Thursday it raised $163.2 million in its initial public offering by selling 10.2 million shares at $16 per share, the high end of its target range of $14 to $16 per share.
After two years of drought, the US IPO market is on the road to recovery, although the road to recovery is uneven, people hope that the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates and reduce market volatility.
MBX’s success has brought good returns to the IPO market, which has entered its traditional summer lull following the July debut of the year’s biggest cold storage real estate investment trust, Lineage (LINE.O) .
MBX’s lead experimental drug candidate, MBX2109, is being developed to treat chronic hypoparathyroidism, a condition in which the body produces insufficient levels of parathyroid hormone, disrupting calcium levels in the blood and bones.
The company is also developing MBX 4291, an experimental treatment for obesity. This therapy mimics the effects of two gut hormones, GLP-1 and GIP.
Eli Lilly and Co’s LLY.N tezepatide, sold in the U.S. as the weight-loss drug Zepabound and the diabetes drug Monjaro, also mimics the function of these two gut hormones.
Wall Street estimates that annual global sales of diet pills will reach $150 billion by the early 2030s.
In addition, Bristol-Myers Squibb-backed Zenus Biopharma was also listed on the Nasdaq, with its share price rising nearly 8%.
