Kailera Therapeutics files for US IPO

March 27 (Reuters) – Kailera Therapeutics filed for a U.S. initial public offering on Friday, becoming the latest biotech company looking to tap investor appetite as listings in the space gather momentum.

U.S. companies have pushed on with their IPO plans even as the conflict in the Middle East threatens to roil the risk-on appetite in equities.

Flagship-backed Generate Biomedicines’ shares fell more than 6% in their Nasdaq debut last month, giving the drug developer a valuation of $1.91 billion.

Waltham, Massachusetts-based Kailera is a developer of obesity drugs that seek to help patients lose weight.

Demand for obesity drugs has surged, fueling intense competition between drugmakers such as Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, which currently dominate the race.

Earlier this year, Kailera and its partner Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals said their experimental oral obesity drug had helped patients lose up to 12.1% body weight at 26 weeks in a mid-stage study in China.

Kailera, which was launched in October 2024 with $400 million in early-stage funding and four obesity drug candidates licensed from Hengrui, has applied to list on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker “KLRA.”

JPMorgan, Jefferies, Leerink Partners, TD Cowen, Evercore ISI, and William Blair are among the underwriters for the offering.

(Reporting by Utkarsh Shetti in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)