The IPO Buzz: Zenas BioPharma (ZBIO Proposed) Sets Terms & Launches $200 Million IPO

Zenas BioPharma (ZBIO Proposed), a Phase 2/Phase 3 clinical biotech focused on MS and other autoimmune diseases, disclosed the terms for its $199.9 million IPO and launched the deal early today – Friday, Sept. 6, 2024 – for pricing next week. The clinical biotech is offering 11.8 million shares at a price range of $16.00 to $18.00 to raise $199.9 million, if priced at the $17.00 mid-point of its range. Zenas BioPharma would have a market cap of about $ This is a NASDAQ listing. Morgan Stanley, Jefferies, Citigroup and Guggenheim Securities are the joint book-runners. Zenas BioPharma’s IPO is set for pricing next week – on Thursday night, Sept. 12, 2024, to trade Friday, Sept. 13, on the NASDAQ. The clinical biotech company, based in Waltham, Massachusetts, said it is “developing new therapies for MS (multiple sclerosis) and other autoimmune disorders,” according to the prospectus. “Our lead I&I (immunology and inflammation) product candidate, obexelimab, is a bifunctional monoclonal antibody designed to bind both CD19 and Fcγ receptor IIb (“FcγRIIb”), which are broadly present across B cell lineage, in order to inhibit the activity of cells that are implicated in many autoimmune diseases without depleting them,” Zenas BioPharma said in the prospectus.  “We are developing obexelimab as a potential I&I franchise for patients in several autoimmune diseases, representing substantial commercial opportunities individually and in the aggregate. The first four indications we are pursuing include:

• Immunoglobulin G4-related disease (“IgG4-RD”) through an ongoing registration-directed Phase 3 trial;
• Multiple sclerosis (“MS”) and systemic lupus erythematosus (“SLE”) through planned Phase 2, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trials, each of which we plan to commence in the third quarter of 2024; and
• Warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia (“wAIHA”) through an ongoing Phase 2/3 trial, currently in the Phase 2 open label portion.

“We estimate that the commercial opportunity across these four indications is approximately $50 billion in the aggregate in the U.S. alone,” Zenas BioPharma said in the prospectus. (For more information about these companies, please check the IPO Calendar and the individual IPO Profiles found on IPOScoop.com’s website.) Note: Never trade on proposed symbols. They have been known to change and you might buy something on the OTC Bulletin Board. To see what time the NASDAQ IPOs are expected to trade, please log in to: NASDAQTrader.com then scroll down to IPO Message. Disclosure: Nobody on the IPOScoop.com staff has a position in any stocks mentioned above, nor do they trade or invest in IPOs. The IPOScoop.com staff does not issue advice, recommendations or opinions. Disclaimer: A SCOOP Rating (Wall Street Consensus of Opening-day Premiums) is a general consensus taken, at press time, from Wall Street and investment professionals concerning how well an IPO might perform when it starts trading. The SCOOP Rating does not reflect the opinions or anyone associated with IPOScoop.com. The SCOOP ratings should not be taken as investment advice. The rating merely reflects the opinion of the professionals at the time of publication and is subject to last-minute changes due to market conditions, changes in a specific offering and other factors, such as changes in the proposed offering terms and the shifting of investor interest in the IPO. The information offered is taken from sources we believe to be reliable, but we cannot guarantee the accuracy.