(Bloomberg) -- Rivus Pharmaceuticals Inc., a drug developer focused on obesity treatments, is considering a US initial public offering as soon as 2024, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The company is working with banks on a listing, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly. Rivus, which counts RA Capital Management among its investors, may target raising more than $250 million, one of the people said.
Deliberations are ongoing, and details of the offering may change, the people said. A representative for Rivus couldn’t immediately comment.
An IPO would look to build on momentum for the biopharmaceutical industry after September was the biggest month for US listings since 2021, data compiled by Bloomberg show. BioAge Labs Inc., which is also developing drugs for obesity, raised $228 million in an expanded offering last month and has climbed 25% from a Sept. 26 debut.
Drug developer IPOs on US exchanges have raised $3.2 billion this year, surpassing the proceeds in the respective periods in the previous two years, the data show. However, the trading performances of this year’s crop have been mixed, with shares in six of the 16 new companies whose IPOs raised more than $10 million trading below their offer price.
Rivus’s lead drug is being studied in obesity-related diseases. Last week the company presented mid-stage results for the oral medicine, dubbed HU6, in patients with obesity-related heart failure.
The company raised $132 million in a series B round led by RA Capital with participation from Bain Capital Life Sciences, BB Biotech AG, Longitude Capital, Medicxi, and RxCapital in 2022, according to a statement at the time.
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