Biotech companies Metsera and Maze go public, raising millions

USA – Metsera and Maze Therapeutics have become the second and third biotech companies this year to go public, collectively raising US $415 million in initial public offerings (IPOs).

Metsera, which focuses on obesity treatments, raised US $275 million by selling approximately 15.3 million shares at US $18 each.

Maze, a company developing kidney disease drugs, secured US $140 million through the sale of over 8.7 million shares priced at US $16 apiece. Both exceeded expectations set earlier this week.

Metsera’s shares will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker “MTSR,” while Maze will use the symbol “MAZE.”

Metsera’s rapid entry into public markets comes less than a year after it officially launched in April.

The company is aiming to compete in the growing market for weight-loss drugs by improving on existing options like Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound.

Metsera has already raised over US $500 million in private funding and has developed a pipeline of oral and injectable obesity treatments.

One of Metsera’s leading candidates, MET-097i, showed promise in Phase 2 trials, with data suggesting it lasts longer in the body compared to its competitors.

The company is conducting additional trials to test MET-097i for weekly and monthly dosing schedules, with results expected in 2025.

Alongside this, Metsera is also advancing an oral drug currently in early-stage testing in Canada and an injectable therapy targeting the gut hormone amylin.

If safety trials go well, the injectable therapy will be tested in combination with MET-097i starting in 2025.

Maze Therapeutics, which has also raised nearly US $500 million through private funding rounds, focuses on treatments for kidney and metabolic diseases.

Its lead drug entered Phase 2 testing in November for a kidney disease caused by mutations in the APOL1 gene.

Maze believes its drug could outperform a similar treatment by Vertex Pharmaceuticals that is in late-stage trials, citing preclinical data that shows greater potency. Results from this trial are expected in 2026.

Additionally, Maze is advancing a treatment for chronic kidney disease in Phase 1 trials, with plans to begin Phase 2 testing in 2025 for phenylketonuria, a rare genetic disorder.

The company previously developed a Pompe disease drug that was licensed to Sanofi and later to Shionogi after regulatory hurdles.

Maze has also contributed research to other startups, though one of them, Contour Therapeutics, has since shut down.

Biotech IPOs have been relatively slow in recent years, with only about two dozen annually compared to the surge during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, experts anticipate an increase in IPOs in 2025 as more biotechs reach advanced stages of development.

In addition to Metsera and Maze, other companies are also pursuing public listings. This month, China-based cancer biotech Ascentage Pharma went public, with four more companies lined up to follow.

Of these, most have drugs in clinical testing, and several are in Phase 2 or beyond, indicating a growing confidence in the biotech market.