Biotech firm Maze Therapeutics raises $140 million in US IPO (updated)

Maze Therapeutics

31/01/2025 01:01

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onwards)
       Jan 30 (Reuters) - Maze Therapeutics said on Thursday
that it raised $140 million in an initial public offering,
setting the stage for a debut that will make the kidney disease
drug developer the first U.S. biotech listing this year.
    Maze priced the offering at $16 per share, within its
indicated range of $15 to $17.
    Investors in Maze include healthcare venture firms ARCH
Venture and Third Rock Ventures, along with Alphabet's  GOOGL.O 
venture capital arm GV.
        Last month, the drug developer raised a series-D
financing round of $115 million.
    Maze is working on developing treatments for renal,
cardiovascular, and metabolic diseases. Its pipeline features
two leading experimental candidates for chronic kidney disease:
MZE829, currently in a mid-stage study, and MZE782, in an
early-stage study with initial data anticipated in the second
half of 2025.
    Early-stage biotech firms typically require huge capital to
finance their research and drug development, and are viewed as
long-term plays for investors.
    Earlier this month, Maze reported a $9.03 million profit for
the nine-month period ended Sept. 30, versus a loss of $73.84
million in the year-ago period. 
    The debut also comes at a time of market uncertainty, with a
global tech selloff triggered by the Chinese AI platform
DeepSeek testing investor risk appetite. 
    Additionally, investors are weighing the inflationary
effects of tariffs and mass deportations under U.S. President
Donald Trump. In its IPO prospectus, Maze has highlighted
tariffs as a potential risk, noting that such policies could
affect the cost of manufacturing its therapeutic candidates.
    Maze's shares are scheduled to start trading in New York on
Friday under the ticker symbol "MAZE".

         
  
    

 (Reporting by Ateev Bhandari and Rishabh Jaiswal in Bengaluru;
Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
 ((rishabh.jaiswal@thomsonreuters.com;))