Local biotech Aardvark Therapeutics made its debut on the public market this month, making it San Diego’s first life science IPO of 2025.
Aardvark is a clinical stage company developing small molecule therapies for metabolic diseases. One of the symptoms associated with these conditions is excessive eating and hunger.
The La Jolla-based firm expected gross proceeds of about $94.2 million with its opening stock priced at $16 per share. Its stock began trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “AARD” on Feb. 13.
The local biotech’s debut on the public market came sooner than last year’s first IPO. Boundless Bio, a startup working on targeted cancer therapies for hard-to-treat tumors, began trading in early March and netted $100 million.
Jonathan Norris, managing director at HSBC Innovation, said he expects the life science sector to see more IPO activity this year, though it’s hard to predict how much given many unknowns in the market. Norris works closely with startups and venture capitalists in the science and technology sectors.
Investors are still acting conservatively with their money, which was evident in the large venture capital deals made with very few companies last year. He explained that in addition to more companies potentially opting for IPOs, there’s also likely to be more merger and acquisition deals with early stage companies.
“The consistency for that kind of goes back to the ‘patent cliff’ for big pharma and the need to build their pipeline,” he said. “For the venture investor that’s why they build these early stage companies because they know that the big guys need to have a very strong pipeline … (biotech) is much different than other sectors that are out there.”
CareFusion cuts workforce
CareFusion, a local maker of health care tools and technology, is cutting its San Diego workforce by 90 employees, according to a filing with the state.
The Sorrento Valley-based company is a subsidiary of New Jersey’s medical technology giant BD, or Becton Dickinson and Company. BD acquired CareFusion in 2014 for $12.2 billion.
The job cuts began in December on a rolling basis and will conclude on March 14, the company said in a WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) letter sent to the state on Feb. 11. The company said the two impacted facilities are not closing, but the layoffs are permanent.
The company trimmed 48 positions at its 3750 Torrey View Court location, including software engineers, vice presidents and a director level positions.
The 42 layoffs at the company’s 10020 Pacific Mesa Blvd., location are a continuation of BD’s previously announced plans to relocate certain manufacturing operations to Tijuana.
In September, the company said it was moving 91 jobs associated with its medication management solutions (MMS) division. In addition to that move, BD cut its local headcount by 92 positions at the Torrey View Court site.
Local biotech strikes collab deal worth up to $1.64B
Pharmaceutical giant AbbVie and local biotech Neomorph recently inked a collaboration deal worth up to $1.64 billion in milestone payments.
Together, they’ll work on a novel, small molecule approach to precision medicines for immune disorders and cancer.
More specifically, it’s a molecular glue degrader that the company says has the potential to target proteins that “have historically been defined as ‘undruggable.’”
“At Neomorph, we have spent years building a unique molecular glue platform with broad coverage of the proteome,” said Phil Chamberlain, co-founder and CEO of Neomorph in the announcement. “We are thrilled to partner with AbbVie, a global leader in delivering transformative medicines in oncology and immunology, as we aim to tackle some of the most challenging and valuable targets known.”
The deal also includes an option-to-license agreement for the molecular glue degrader and the potential for tiered royalties on net sales, AbbVie said in the announcement.
