Allergy and autoimmune biotech company Lycia Therapeutics (LYCA.US) is set to list on Nasdaq tonight! IPO priced at $18 per share, aiming to raise $317.5 million.

Lycia Therapeutics, a biotech company focused on treatments for allergies and autoimmune diseases, has upsized its upcoming U.S. initial public offering (IPO). According to a statement released by the company on Thursday, Lycia will offer 17.64 million shares at $18 per share to raise $317.5 million. A previous filing showed that the biotech company had originally planned to offer 14.7 million shares at a price range of $16 to $18 per share. Lycia shares are expected to begin trading on Friday on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol "LYCA." Based on the IPO price and the number of shares outstanding listed in the filing, the early-stage biotech company has a market value of $990.6 million. Founded in 2019, Lycia's research and development work is based on the research of Nobel laureate Carolyn Bertozzi. The company plans to use the proceeds from the IPO to advance three of its experimental drugs in early-stage development for the treatment of patients with food allergies and Graves' disease. Lycia Therapeutics is committed to developing therapies designed to degrade disease-causing extracellular proteins, with an initial focus on autoimmune, inflammatory and allergic diseases. Its technology platform, called LYTAC (lysosome-targeting chimera), is based on the research work of Nobel laureate Carolyn Bertozzi at Stanford University. Its lead drug candidate, LCA-0061, is designed to degrade immunoglobulin E (IgE) for the treatment of allergic diseases including food allergies and is currently in Phase 1 clinical trials. Preliminary data from the first 8 healthy atopic subjects (2 of whom received placebo) showed that IgE levels in treated subjects decreased by up to 96% from baseline. A second IgE candidate, LCA-0062, is currently undergoing pre-IND filing preparations. In addition, the company is conducting a Phase 1 clinical trial of LCA-0321, a drug designed to selectively degrade the autoantibodies that cause Graves' disease. Graves' disease is an autoimmune thyroid disease. According to the filing, the San Francisco-based company had a net loss of $36.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2025; for the six months ended June 30, 2025, its net loss was $19.2 million. Since its founding, Lycia has raised nearly $266.6 million from life sciences investors. According to the filing, after the completion of the IPO, Versant Ventures is expected to hold a 14% stake in the company, followed by Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners at an expected 9.2%; Redmile Biopharma Investments is expected to hold 8%. Other supporters holding smaller stakes include RTW Investments, Janus Henderson and Blue Owl Healthcare Opportunities.