BRIEF—Alumis goes big but falls short of $300 million with IPO

Californian biotech Alumis has raised $250 million in a downsized initial public offering with a concurrent private placement.

Alumis had hoped to raise around $300 million by selling 17.7 million shares at $16 to $18 each. But the firm ended up only selling 13.1 million shares at $16 each. Even so, the offering remains enough to come in as the year’s third-biggest biotech debut so far.

Thursday’s total sits alongside a $40-million private placement from existing shareholder AyurMaya Capital Management Fund.

Alumis has a pipeline of oral therapies aimed at addressing immune dysfunction. The company is working towards Phase III trials for lead candidate ESK-001, a highly selective allosteric tyrosine kinase 2 inhibitor, in plaque psoriasis.

Since its inception as Esker Therapeutics in 2021, Alumis has consistently demonstrated its fundraising prowess, having previously raised $70 million in a series A round and $200 million in a series B round.

Most recently, the company took in $259 million in a series C financing, led by Foresite Capital and Samsara BioCapital, marking one of the largest private biotech fundraises in 2024.