Company Overview - Aktis Oncology raised $318 million from its initial public offering (IPO), marking the first IPO for a biotechnology company in 2026 [1] - The company priced 17.65 million shares at $18 each, exceeding its initial plan, with Eli Lilly purchasing $100 million worth of shares [2] - Aktis will begin trading on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "AKTS" [2] Product Pipeline - The most advanced prospect, AKY-1189, is a "miniprotein radioconjugate" targeting Nectin-4, similar to Pfizer's bladder cancer drug Padcev [3] - A second drug, AKY-2519, targets solid tumors expressing the B7-H3 protein, which have shown poor responses to existing therapies [4] - Phase 1 study results for AKY-1189 are expected in the first quarter of 2027 [3] Funding and Market Context - Prior to the IPO, Aktis secured $346 million in private funding from investors including MPM BioImpact, Vida Ventures, and RA Capital [5] - The previous year saw a slow fundraising environment for biotech companies, with fewer than a dozen IPOs, and only one cancer drug developer, Ascentage Pharma, successfully pricing an IPO [5] - The radiopharmaceutical sector has attracted major pharmaceutical firms, with Aktis' IPO ranking as the third-largest in the sector since the start of 2024 [6]
Aktis raises $318M in 2026’s first biotech IPO