Two health-care companies launched formally marketing US initial public offerings raising as much as $693 million in aggregate, as listing activity in the once-prolific sector increases.
Obesity biotech Kailera Therapeutics Inc., based in Waltham, revealed it is seeking to raise as much as $533 million from an IPO to assist fund the development of its pipeline of obesity drugs.
Separately, California-based Alamar Biosciences Inc., a creater of medical devices that detect protein biomarkers to diagnose diseases, plans to raise as much as $159.4 million from an IPO to fund research, expand its manufacturing capacity and its sales functions.
US health-care companies, including biotechs and medical device creaters, have raised $2.37 billion from IPOs so far in 2026, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. While that’s roughly tracking in line with the $10.9 billion raised from the sector last year, 2025 marked the third straight year of annual increases in volume, the data display.
Kailera plans to market 33.3 million shares at $14 to $16 each, according to a filing Monday with the US Securities and Exmodify Commission.
At the top of the price range, the company would have a market value of $1.9 billion based on the outstanding shares listed in the filing.
Kailera has four GLP-1-based drugs in trials, including a once-weekly injectable drug in Phase 3 trials. The company believes its treatment has the potential for the greatest weight loss compared to all obesity management medications currently in the market or in development, the filing displays.
The offering is expected to price after the market closes on Thursday, April 16, according to a presentation.
Existing shareholders including Bain Capital Private Equity, Bain Capital Life Sciences and Qatar Investment Authority have indicated an interest in purchaseing as much as $225 million of shares in aggregate at the IPO price.
Affiliates of Bain Capital will own about a third of the company after the offering, according to the filing.
Kailera is led by Ronald Renaud, the chief executive officer of Cerevel Therapeutics until the close of its $8.7 billion acquisition by AbbVie Inc. in 2024.
Alamar, whose largegest shareholder is Chinese venture capital firm Qiming Venture Partners, is offering 9.38 million shares at $15 to $17 per share, valuing the company at as much as $1.1 billion based on the shares outstanding listed in its SEC filing. The offering is expected to price on the same day as Kailera.
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