Time to head to Bunnings and show my respect to the tea...

Time to head to Bunnings and show my respect to the tea towellers and the lovely Benji supporters both of whom can't stand the smell of that cheap
and oily snag but the rest of us love them. I'm always with the strength there so prefer my onions and dead horse before I peruse the 67 aisles.
Talking about love, the yanks love their biotechs and there is no shortage of money around even at phase 2 level to offer support. Don't think for
a second the lads behind the big tables are thinking about this either. This just in. Once we start rolling, everyone will want a slice of it all.

Upstream is also the latest company with a drug in advanced clinical testing to experience IPO success. A majority of the 22 IPOs in 2024 — and nine of the largest 10 offerings — have involved companies with drugs in Phase 2 testing or later. They’re part of what investment bank William Blair described in a recent report as a “flight to quality” in the IPO markets, where investors are favoring companies with proof-of-concept data in hand and a study readout expected within the next year.

Upstream already hasthat type of data. It also anticipates reporting Phase 2 results in a type of chronic rhinosinusitis in the second half of 2025, and following with a readout from a mid-stage study in asthma the following year, according to its IPO filing.

The drug involved in those trials, verekitug, targets a protein called TSLP that drives inflammatory responses to triggers such as allergens. It was originally owned by Astellas Pharma, which advanced the drug through early-stage testing but stopped work following a strategic review. Upstreamused some of a $200 million Series A round to acquire verekitug in an auctionin Oct. 2021, and has made the drug its focus ever since.

In pinning its future on verekitug, Upstream is working on an already-proven and increasingly popular target. Amgen and AstraZeneca’s Tezspire, which also aims at TSLP, was approved for asthma in 2021. Since then, startups likeUniquity Bio,Aiolos Bioand Proteologix have advanced would-be competitors.AiolosandProteologixhave also been acquired by larger drugmakers.

Upstream’s drug works slightly differently than Tezspire, binding to the TSLP receptor and not a related ligand. In itsIPO filing, the company claimed verekitug could be more potent and require less frequent dosing than Tezspire, which is given every four weeks. Upstream is currently testing dosing intervals of 12 and 24 weeks in its Phase 2 trials.

Prior to its IPO, Upstream raised a total of about $400 million in private financing from investors such as Enavate Sciences, Venrock Capital and Bain Capital Life Sciences. OrbiMed, its largest shareholder, owns a 13% stake, according to the IPO filing.

The offering comes during a particularly active week for IPOs across the economy. According to IPO research firm Renaissance Capital, ten companies were expected to price offerings by Friday. There have already been a total of 111 IPOs in the U.S. so far in 2024, up 34% from last year, the firm said