Perlmutter's Eikon follows the IPO trail

Former MSD head of R&D Roger Perlmutter has continued the swift development track for cancer start-up Eikon Therapeutics, filing an IPO to build its already healthy cash position further.

Eikon has raised more than $1 billion since quietly launching in 2019, most recently with its $351 million Series D last year, and is now hoping to raise upwards of $300 million from a Nasdaq listing, although, as yet, no pricing terms have been disclosed. It plans to list under the EIKN symbol.

The South San Francisco-based company has been built around a platform that uses super-resolution microscopy, based on advanced optics and machine learning techniques, to study the behaviour of proteins in live cells and find drugs to target them, along with in-licensing of promising assets.

Its pipeline has developed quickly since it emerged from stealth in 2021, with four candidates now in clinical trials.

Furthest along is EIK1001, an in-licensed TLR 7/8 dual-agonist in international phase 2/3 testing for advanced melanoma and stage 4 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with data from both studies due to emerge later this year. Both studies are looking at the drug in combination with MSD's PD-1 inhibitor Keytruda (pembrolizumab).

Following after are two in-licensed PARP inhibitors, EIK1003 and EIK1004, which are designed to inhibit PARP1 with activity against PARP2 in the hope of maintaining the efficacy of current drugs in the class, like AstraZeneca and MSD's Lynparza (olaparib), whilst avoiding haematological side effects. They are in phase 1/2 dose escalation trials and will be tested in ovarian, breast, prostate, and pancreatic cancers.

The first fruit of Eikon's discovery engine, EIK1005, is a WRN helicase inhibitor for tumours with high levels of microsatellite instability mutations (MSI-high), which is in a phase 1.2 dose-escalation study as a monotherapy and alongside Keytruda in solid tumours.

An in-house androgen receptor antagonist with potential as a prostate cancer treatment, EIK1006, should also start clinical development this year.

Veradermics chances its arm

In other IPO news, Connecticut-based biotech Veradermics also filed for a Nasdaq listing, estimated to be around $100 million, but again without disclosing an offer price range. The company is developing an oral, extended-release formulation of minoxidil (VDPHL01) to treat male and female pattern hair loss, which affects approximately 50 million men and 30 million women in the US.

Topical minoxidil is an established therapy for pattern hair loss, but has limited efficacy. Veradermics is running phase 3 trials of VDPHL01, hoping to show that its formulation can increase exposure of hair follicles to the active drug and achieve more consistent and intense hair regrowth.

The company hopes to list on the Nasdaq under the MANE symbol.

The two IPOs, which follow radiopharma specialist Aktis Oncology's filing last week, have investors and industry watchers speculating about a return of a buoyant biotech IPO environment after a lacklustre 2024 and 2025.