The IPO Buzz: Aktis Oncology (AKTS) Prices IPO at $18 – Top of Range – 1st Big IPO of 2026

Aktis Oncology (AKTS) priced its recently upsized IPO at $18.00 – the top of its $16.00-to-$18.00 range – and sold 17.65 million shares – the number of shares in the prospectus – to raise $317.7 million on Thursday night, Jan. 8, 2026. The stock of Aktis Oncology is expected to start trading tomorrow – Friday, Jan. 9, 2026 – on the NASDAQ.

Eli Lilly and Company, an existing stockholder with a collaboration agreement with Aktis Oncology, had indicated an interest in buying $100 million of stock in the IPO.

At pricing, Aktis Oncology had a market cap of $945.5 million.

J.P. Morgan, BofA Securities, Leerink Partners and TD Cowen served as the joint book-runners.

Aktis Oncology upsized its IPO by 50 percent yesterday – to raise about $300.05 million – up from $200.18 million under the original terms – according to an S-1/A filing dated Jan. 7, 2026. .

Eli Lilly’s indication of interest in buying $100 million of stock in Aktis Oncology’s IPO made players sit up and take notice of this deal, the IPO pros say.

The Boston-based cancer biotech intends to use most of the IPO’s proceeds to fund clinical trials for its two leading drug candidates – Ac-AKY-1189 to treat advanced or metastatic bladder cancer tumors that express Nectin-4, a protein, and Ac-AKY-2519 to treat solid tumors that express B7-H3, a protein found in many types of cancer, including prostate cancer, lung cancer and breast cancer, according to the prospectus. Both leading drug candidates are radiopharmaceutical drugs. (Incorporated in Delaware)

Aktis Oncology is not profitable, according to financial statements in the prospectus: The company reported a net loss of $60.65 million on revenue of $5.56 million for the 12 months that ended Sept. 30, 2025.

(For more information about this company, please check the IPO Calendar and the individual IPO Profile found on the IPOScoop.com website.)

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