BioAge prices $198M IPO, validating pivot to obesity drug research

BioAge Labs has raised $198 million in an initial public offering, the company announced Wednesday, capitalizing on intense investor interest in drugs that can promote weight loss.  

BioAge, which is evaluating a medicine that’s meant to boost the effects of popular obesity drugs known as GLP-1 agonists, sold 11 million shares at $18 apiece in the offering. Those numbers exceed projections set by the company last week, and were accrued shortly after the company had already hiked the size of its offering by 40%

The offering validates a strategic shift by BioAge to one of the hottest areas of pharmaceutical research. The Richmond, California company was founded nearly a decade ago and, as its name suggests, started out working on treatments for age-related diseases. 

In pursuit of that goal, it licensed an experimental drug from Amgen called azelaprag in 2021 and aimed to test it as a way to preserve muscle mass in the elderly. Phase 1 study results a year later showed the drug had the potential to do so in people 65 or older and on strict bed rest. At the time, the company discussed plans to start a mid-stage trial in people in intensive care.

Since then, though, BioAge has positioned azelaprag as an obesity treatment. The company zeroed in on the potential for the drug to address a common concern with weight-loss drugs like Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound, which can help people quickly cut weight but lose muscle mass in the process. 

Last October, BioAge announced plans to start a Phase 2 trial testing azelaprag alongside Zepbound, with the goal of showing the combination drives more weight loss and improves peoples’ body composition compared to Zepbound alone. Four months later, a group of prominent investors poured $170 million into the company in the type of “crossover” round designed to form the foundation for an IPO. The round was one of the 10 largest crossover financings for a biotech in the first quarter of 2024, according to a report from investment firm William Blair. Now the company has made it to Wall Street in what’s been a difficult time overall for young drugmakers to go public. 

“BioAge Labs’ IPO represents more than just a financial milestone; it’s a testament to the company’s adaptability and the rapidly evolving landscape of metabolic health and longevity research,” Kazi Helal, PitchBook’s senior healthcare analyst, said in analyst commentary in early September. “As the first of potentially many such companies to go public, BioAge’s performance will be closely watched by investors, industry players, and healthcare professionals alike.”

Still, BioAge faces competition. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Biohaven Pharmaceutical and recently launched SixPeaks Bio are among those developing muscle-preserving drugs for obesity. Many other companies, including Lilly and Novo, are advancing different types of weight loss medicines as well. Some are in the advanced stages of clinical testing. 

BioAge expects to report results from its combination study with Zepbound next year. A second trial testing azelaprag alongside Wegovy will start in 2025 as well, according to its IPO filing.

BioAge’s IPO is the fifth of September, the most in a single month since February, according to BioPharma Dive data. So far, 20 biotechs have priced offerings in 2024, roughly in line the pace of the previous two years. The majority of them, like BioAge, have had programs in clinical testing and raised hundreds of millions of dollars in venture backing.

Prior to its offering, BioAge had secured $321 million in private financing.