This
could
be
the
biggest
week
for
biotech
IPOs
in
years
—
even
if
the
government
remains
shuttered
temporarily.
Government
funding
lapsed
this
past
Saturday,
sparking
a
partial
government
shutdown
that
has
closed
agencies
not
deemed
essential
for
public
safety
and
national
security.
The
list
of
closed
agencies
includes
the
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission,
which
must
sign
off
on
an
IPO
filing
before
a
company
can
go
public.
The
shutdown
could
be
brief.
House
Speaker
Mike
Johnson
said
on
Meet
the
Press
that
he
expects
the
Senate-passed
funding
bill
will
go
to
a
vote
in
the
House
of
Representatives
by
Tuesday.
But
until
the
government
reopens,
the
SEC’s
operations
plan
states
the
agency
will
not
process
new
or
pending
registration
statements.
Across
all
sectors,
as
many
as
eight
companies
are
lined
up
for
IPOs
this
week,
according
to
IPO
research
firm
Renaissance
Capital.
If
all
eight
price
their
offerings
this
week,
it
would
mark
the
most
active
week
for
IPOs
since
2021,
Renaissance
said.
Four
on
this
list
are
biotech
companies:
Eikon
Therapeutics,
Veradermics,
AgomAb
Therapeutics,
Spyglass
Pharma.
These
biotechs
could
still
go
public
even
with
the
SEC
closed.
Before
the
government
shut
down,
the
agency
late
Friday
filed
a
notice
of
effectiveness
for
each
one.
The
filing
is
an
SEC
declaration
that
a
registration
statement
has
met
all
of
the
agency’s
legal
and
regulatory
requirements,
clearing
the
company
to
proceed
with
an
IPO.
Though
2025
IPO
activity
did
not
reach
the
heights
many
had
hoped,
the
total
number
of
new
public
companies
still
marked
a
four-year
high,
according
to
Renaissance’s
2026
IPO
outlook
report.
The
firm
counted
202
companies
that
went
public
in
2025,
raising
$44
billion.
Those
figures
continue
the
upward
trend
in
IPOs
since
a
drop-off
after
the
2021
peak,
when
397
IPOs
raised
$142.4
billion,
according
to
the
report.
Stabilizing
macroeconomic
conditions
after
tariff
volatility
in
2025
along
with
cooling
inflation
and
declining
interest
rates
are
among
the
factors
that
Renaissance
sees
driving
IPO
activity
this
year.
The
firm
also
said
there’s
a
robust
backlog
of
companies
waiting
to
go
public,
many
of
them
near-term
IPO
candidates.
Renaissance
projects
200
to
230
IPOs
across
all
sectors
this
year
will
raise
between
$40
billion
and
$60
billion.
Rich
Segal,
a
partner
at
Cooley,
said
the
robust
IPO
markets
of
2020
and
2021
were
not
normal,
and
he
doesn’t
think
the
expectation
should
be
that
activity
will
return
to
those
levels.
Cooley
sees
a
progressive
increase
in
IPOs
for
2026.
Segal
added
that
there
is
often
IPO
activity
around
the
J.P.
Morgan
Healthcare
Conference
each
January.
Aktis
Oncology
had
the
first
biotech
IPO
of
2026,
debuting
on
the
Nasdaq
just
ahead
of
the
conference.
Eikon,
Veradermics,
SpyGlass,
and
AgomAb
all
timed
the
filings
of
their
registration
statements
to
coincide
with
the
JPM
conference.
Last
week,
those
companies
updated
their
filings
with
preliminary
financial
terms
for
their
planned
IPOs.
Segal
said
that
once
the
new
year
starts,
many
investors
want
to
see
the
immediate
prior
year
financials.
Some
companies
may
push
out
an
IPO
date
further
so
they
can
provide
those
data.
There’s
another
way
to
go
public
during
a
government
shutdown.
Under
Section
8(a)
of
the
Securities
Act,
a
registration
statement
becomes
effective
20
days
after
it
is
filed.
Shashi
Khiani,
shareholder
in
the
securities
and
corporate
finance
practice
at
Polsinelli,
notes
that
most
companies
do
not
want
to
go
public
this
way
so
they
include
an
amendment
to
the
filing
that
delays
effectiveness
until
the
company
is
notified
by
the
SEC.
That’s
because
if
a
company
starts
selling
shares
and
the
SEC
later
finds
a
problem
with
the
prospectus,
the
company
could
face
enforcement
action
from
the
regulator
and
lawsuits
from
shareholders.
Companies
that
pursue
this
path
to
the
public
markets
are
likely
further
along
in
the
SEC
review
of
the
prospectus,
Khiani
said.
“Companies
who’ve
been
through
a
couple
of
rounds
with
the
SEC
now,
where
they
have
a
modicum
of
comfort
that
they’ve
addressed
the
SEC’s
comments
and
there’s
no
issue,
I
think
they
might
be
stronger
candidates
or
more
likely
to
use
this
option,”
he
explained.
Because
of
the
legal
risks,
Khiani
has
been
advising
clients
not
to
go
public
using
the
Section
8(a)
rule.
But
two
biotechs
did
use
this
rule
to
go
public
during
the
43-day
government
shutdown
last
fall:
MapLight
Therapeutics
and
Evommune.
Cooley
advised
both
biotechs
on
their
IPOs,
though
Segal
was
not
involved
in
either
one.
Speaking
generally,
Segal
said
using
Section
8(a)
to
go
public
is
not
something
a
company
would
do
when
the
government
is
open.
“It’s
definitely
a
tactic
of
last
resort,”
he
said.
“I
don’t
think
anybody’s
doing
it
as
the
first
option,
but
if
the
government
continues
to
shut
down,
we
will
likely
continue
to
see
other
companies
do
this.
But
I
think
it’s
going
to
be
small
numbers.
If
the
government’s
open
and
functioning,
people
will
do
it
the
regular
way.”
At
least
one
biotech
company
has
joined
the
public
markets
during
the
current
government
shutdown.
Polaryx
Therapeutics
went
public
Monday
via
a
direct
listing,
in
which
company
insiders
sell
their
shares
directly
to
the
public
without
involving
underwriters.
Going
public
this
way
still
requires
the
SEC
to
sign
off
on
the
registration
statement.
The
SEC
gave
the
green
light
to
the
Polaryx
filing
and
issued
a
notice
of
effectiveness
last
week,
before
the
shutdown.
Unlike
a
traditional
IPO,
a
direct
listing
does
not
raise
new
money
for
a
company.
That
means
Polaryx
still
needs
to
find
capital
for
its
clinical
trial
plans.
Lead
Polaryx
drug
candidate
PLX-200
is
on
track
to
enter
a
Phase
2
study
in
the
first
half
of
this
year
testing
the
drug
in
rare
lysosomal
storage
disorders.
According
to
Polaryx’s
prospectus,
the
company’s
cash
position
was
$5.7
million
at
the
end
of
the
third
quarter
of
2025.
The
filing
does
not
offer
estimates
for
the
clinical
trial
costs,
but
states
that
Polyaryx
expects
its
capital
will
last
only
through
the
third
quarter
of
this
year.
Photo:
Angela
Weiss/AFP,
via
Getty
Images