Cancer-drug company CG Oncology Inc.’s stock nearly doubled in its trading debut Thursday, in a further sign that the drought of initial public offerings has come to an end in 2024.
Irving, Calif.-based CG Oncology
CGON,
opened at $29 a share, well above its $19 price, and then rose to $35.50 in afternoon trades.
CG Oncology’s debut marked the latest sign of a revival in the market for initial public offerings, after a lack of deals in 2023.
Amer Sports and BrightSpring are also on deck for stock-market debuts in coming days.
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Signs of a strong IPO for CG Oncology came late Wednesday, when the company priced $1 above its estimated price range of $16 to $18. CG Oncology also upped the size of the deal by 3 million shares, to 20 million shares, as investors clamored for stock.
At $19 a share, the IPO raised $380 million with underwriters Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Cantor Fitzgerald. Including an additional 3 million shares to be sold by underwriters, the deal will raise $437 million.
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CG Oncology is a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company that is developing cretostimogene, a bladder-cancer drug, and other treatments.
The company is backed by several private-equity and venture-capital firms, including ORI Capital, Decheng Capital Global Life Science Fund IV, Longitude Venture Partners, Kissei Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd, Foresite Capital, TCG Crossover Fund I and Ally Bridge Group.
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The company reported a $43.8 million net loss in 2022, wider than its 2021 net loss of $12.8 million.
It expects to report topline data by the end of this year in a Phase 3 clinical trial for cretostimogene.
CG Oncology’s chief executive is 33-year-old Arthur Kuan, who has been in the position since 2017, when the company was founded. He’s also a founding member of Ally Bridge Group, a healthcare investment platform.
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