Metsera, a developer of weight-loss medications supported by ARCH Venture Partners, reported a greater loss in its documents for a U.S. initial public offering released on Friday.
Details regarding the IPO were not revealed in the submission.
Robust equity markets, declining interest rates, and optimistic expectations of a more favorable regulatory landscape under the forthcoming Trump administration have invigorated companies aiming to go public.
Founded in 2022 by the venture capital firm ARCH Venture and investment firm Population Health Partners, Metsera disclosed a net loss of $156.26 million during the first nine months of 2024, up from a loss of $34.18 million in the equivalent timeframe of 2023.
The biotechnology company located in New York City is working on injectable and oral treatments targeting obesity, utilizing the GLP-1 mechanism among other biological pathways.
Funds raised from the IPO will be allocated to progress to the next phase of clinical trials for its leading product candidate, MET-097i, an injectable formulation. The remaining funds will finance working capital and various general expenses.
Analysts predict that the weight-loss drug sector, projected to surpass $150 billion by the early 2030s, is experiencing significant growth globally as multiple companies compete for market share.
This appealing market has also piqued investor interest, following the favorable reception of BioAge and MBX Biosciences last year.
In 2023, the World Health Organization chose not to include GLP-1 medications in its essential medicines list, which outlines items necessary for all effective health systems.
Nevertheless, a new application has been submitted requesting the agency to revisit their addition for the 2025 list update, as a spokesperson informed Reuters in December.
Last year, the company secured $290 million in funding, with contributions from firms such as SoftBank and Mubadala Capital.
Metsera aims to publicly list its shares on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker “MTSR”.
The underwriters for the offering include BofA Securities, Goldman Sachs, Evercore ISI, Guggenheim Securities, and Cantor.
On Friday, Wall Street’s leading measure of investor anxiety reached a three-week peak as stock indexes declined following an optimistic jobs report that altered market anticipations for further Federal Reserve interest rate reductions.
The Cboe Volatility Index, an options-based metric indicating demand for insurance against market declines, rose by 1.1 points to 19.18. Earlier in the session, the index reached 20.31, its highest level since December 20.
A reading of 20 or above on the VIX implies strong demand for options-based protection. The rise in the index on Friday—often referred to as the “Wall Street fear gauge”—suggested that investors were recognizing the risks present for stocks, even as the S&P 500 remains within 5% of its record high achieved in early December.
“Volatility is on the rise, and interest rate markets are displaying intriguing behavior,” noted Michael Purves, CEO of Tallbacken Capital Advisors.
“This is putting significant pressure on an equity market that is currently experiencing very high valuations,” he added.
On Friday, longer-dated U.S. Treasury yields surged to their highest points since November 2023, following reports that employers added 256,000 jobs in December, far exceeding economists’ predictions, while the unemployment rate declined.
Concerns that the upcoming Donald Trump administration’s policies might exacerbate an already significant fiscal deficit and reignite inflation have contributed to a rally in Treasury yields in recent weeks, with the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yield nearing 5%.
Traders in the equity options market have reacted by actively purchasing defensive options contracts, with VIX call options—contracts that provide protection against market downturns—seeing increased buying activity.
On Friday, approximately 400,000 VIX call options were traded by 12:30 p.m. (1730 GMT), at 1.5 times the typical rate, according to Trade Alert data.
“The market is exhibiting a distinctly risk-averse tone,” stated Mark Hackett, Chief Market Strategist at Nationwide, in a memo.
“There has been a clear shift in the market’s tone and in investor behavior,” he remarked.
