First raise for Inhibikase since February merger
Inhibikase Therapeutics secured US$100m late on Thursday from an overnight stock sale after listing publicly through a reverse merger earlier this year.
Jefferies, Bank of America, Cantor, LifeSci Capital and Oppenheimer led the placement of 69m shares at a US$1.45 fixed price, a 5.2% discount to the US$1.53 Thursday closing price.
This was the biotech's first equity raise since listing on Nasdaq in February via a reverse merger with CorHepta Pharmaceuticals, which is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Inhibikase, that nearly doubled the number of outstanding shares.
The banks spent multiple days wall-crossing investors before flipping to overnight pricing. To help investors manage their holdings, the offering was structured as two-thirds common stock and one-third pre-funded warrants.
Alongside the equity raise, Inhibikase announced plans to launch a Phase III trial on its treatment for a life-threatening cardiovascular disease called pulmonary arterial hypertension in the first quarter of 2026.
The proceeds give Inhibikase roughly US$177m of initial funding for an expected three-year study.