Fractyl Health prices US IPO below range to raise $110 mln
02/02/2024 02:35
Feb 1 (Reuters) - Obesity and diabetes drug developer
Fractyl Health on Thursday priced its U.S. initial public
offering (IPO) below an indicated range to raise $110 million.
The company, backed by Investment firm Mithril Capital and
venture capital firm General Catalyst, priced its offering of
7.3 million shares at $15 per share, below the indicated range
of $16 to $18.
Lexington, Massachusetts-based Fractyl Health develops
"disease-modifying" therapies that target organ-level root
causes to treat metabolic diseases like type-2 diabetes and
obesity.
An increasing number of drugmakers are targeting breaking
into the lucrative obesity market that is now estimated to reach
$100 billion at a minimum by the end of the decade, as consumers
flock to the new treatments that have been shown to reduce
weight by as much as 20%.
Novo Nordisk NOVOb.CO and Eli Lilly LLY.N have surged
ahead in the competition to claim a share of the weight-loss
drugs market.
Fractyl Health will debut on the Nasdaq on Friday, and trade
under the symbol "GUTS".
After a two-year dry spell, initial public offerings in the
U.S. are expected to rebound in 2024 on firming bets of a soft
landing for the world's largest economy. But the recovery has
been uneven so far.
Last month, Healthcare companies CG Oncology CGON.O and
KKR-backed BrightSpring Health Services BTSG.O made
contrasting market debuts, signaling investors remained
cautious.
(Reporting by Surbhi Misra in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu
Sahu)
((Surbhi.Misra@thomsonreuters.com;))