Scribe Files $107M IPO as Lilly’s $2.8B Psychedelic Bet Lifts the Sector

Bay Area gene-medicine company Scribe Therapeutics officially filed for an IPO with the SEC on July 20, aiming to raise roughly $107 million in a Nasdaq listing. According to its S-1 filing, the company plans to offer 7.1 million shares at $13 to $15 apiece. At the $14 midpoint, that works out to about $96.2 million; if underwriters fully exercise their option to buy an additional 1 million shares, total proceeds could hit $110.2 million.^{[Fierce Biotech]}

Founded in 2020, Scribe launched with $20 million and a partnership with Biogen, backed by CRISPR pioneer and Nobel laureate Jennifer Doudna. Co-founder and CEO Benjamin Oakes previously worked on CRISPR molecular engineering in Doudna’s lab before setting up his own lab at UC Berkeley and eventually spinning out the startup.^{[Fierce Biotech]}

Gene-Silencing Cholesterol Therapy Enters the Clinic

The core purpose of Scribe’s IPO is to fund its lead program, STX-1150. The company plans to allocate $30 million to $35 million of the proceeds to the ongoing Phase 1 study. STX-1150 is a gene-silencing therapy designed to shut down the PCSK9 gene — a well-known cardiovascular target already exploited by approved cholesterol-lowering drugs like Amgen’s Repatha and Novartis’ Leqvio.^{[Fierce Biotech]}

According to SEC filings, Scribe recently kicked off its first human study of STX-1150. If successful, the drug could offer high-cholesterol patients a novel genetic treatment option, competing with existing monoclonal antibodies and siRNA therapies.

Biotech IPO Wave Continues in 2026

Scribe’s filing is the latest in a surge of biotech IPOs in 2026. According to BioSpace, 18 biotechs went public in the first half of 2026, more than double the eight that listed in all of 2025. If Scribe and others that disclosed plans last week — BlossomHill, VogenX and Latigo — all make it to market, 2026 could become the most active year for biotech IPOs since the pandemic-driven peak of 2021.^[BioSpace]

On Friday, California-based BlossomHill Therapeutics and Latigo Biotherapeutics also filed with the SEC to list on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. BlossomHill will trade under the ticker BLSM, Latigo under LTGO. Neither company disclosed specific fundraising amounts or timelines.^[BioSpace]

BlossomHill is raising money for two Phase 2 cancer trials targeting EGFR-mutant non-small cell lung cancer and acute myeloid leukemia. Latigo plans to use IPO proceeds to challenge Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the non-opioid pain market.^{[Pharmaphorum]}

Lilly’s $2.8B Psychedelic Buy: Analysts See Sector Heating Up

Beyond the IPO wave, big pharma M&A is also humming. Eli Lilly last week announced a $2.8 billion upfront acquisition of AtaiBeckley, picking up BPL-003, a fast-acting intranasal psychedelic for treatment-resistant depression. The drug showed statistically significant improvement in depressive symptoms in a Phase 2b trial.^{[Fierce Biotech]}

Evercore biotech equity research managing director Gavin Clark-Gartner described the deal as a “rising tide scenario” that could lift other psychedelic biotechs. “For this space to succeed, you need multiple options,” Clark-Gartner told Fierce Biotech. “The depression patient population is huge — you’re not fighting over rare disease patients.”^{[Fierce Biotech]}

Citeline senior analyst Emma Wille agreed, calling psychedelic therapy “a massive collective project” and noting that “if one succeeds, it makes it easier for the others.”^{[Fierce Biotech]}

Still, the path hasn’t been smooth. In 2024, an FDA advisory committee rejected Lykos’ MDMA treatment for PTSD, deepening market skepticism about whether psychedelics could clear regulatory hurdles. “The investment community lumped the whole space together and said, ‘This is a problem area,’” said Leerink Partners senior research analyst and managing director Marc Goodman. But Goodman noted that sentiment has shifted in the years since.^{[Fierce Biotech]}

Market Reaction: Lilly Dips After Hours

As of 7:00 p.m. ET on July 20 (after hours), Eli Lilly (LLY) traded at $1,146.90, down 2.73% (-$32.21) from the prior close of $1,179.11. During the regular session, shares ranged between $1,144.43 and $1,187.12, opening at $1,179.65. The decline comes after last week’s AtaiBeckley acquisition announcement, as the market digests the deal’s impact on Lilly’s financials and pipeline.

This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, trading advice, or any guarantee of returns.