Dive Brief:

• Aktis Oncology has become the first biotechnology company to file for an initial public offering in several weeks, outlining on Friday a stock issuance to help advance a pipeline of radiopharmaceuticals for cancer.
• Aktis specializes in what it calls “miniprotein radioconjugates,” which it believes to be capable of accessing tumor targets that are “outside the scope” of current radiopharmaceutical technologies, according to the company’s IPO prospectus. Its first prospect is currently in early-stage testing and aimed at a protein called Nectin-4 that’s expressed by bladder cancers as well as other solid tumors.
• Aktis has a partnership in place with Eli Lilly and has received investments from multiple large pharmaceutical companies, among them Merck & Co., Novartis and Bristol Myers Squibb. It raised about $346 million in private financing before submitting its IPO paperwork.

Dive Insight:

2025 has largely been a year to forget for biotech IPOs.

Already in the throes of a prolonged slowdown, new biotech stock offerings in 2025 reached their lowest levels in at least seven years. Data compiled by BioPharma Dive show that only 11 drug startups raised about $1.6 billion in IPO proceeds as of Dec. 22. Both numbers are well short of the $3.5 billion secured by two dozen biotechs in 2024 — totals that were also far removed from historical norms.

Still, there are some signs IPO activity could return in 2026. Most of the biotechs that went public this year currently trade above their offering price and one, Metsera, was acquired in a $10 billion acquisition. Public company stock prices have rebounded over the course of the year amid a spike in M&A deals and alleviated fears over drug pricing and tariff policies. Many companies have reported positive data and been rewarded with higher valuations.

An analysis from a team of analysts at RBC Capital Markets found that private financing also jumped 44% in the second half compared to the first six months of the year. Venture funding is often a “leading indicator of a healthy biotech ecosystem,” the team wrote. “We expect the [IPO] window to open in the coming year.”

Aktis could be the first to test investors’ appetite in 2026. The startup is one of many in recent years to emerge with plans to make targeted radiation drugs, or radiopharmaceuticals, for cancer. Several of its peers have been acquired, demonstrating large pharmaceutical companies’ interest in the approach. And Aktis claims its prospects could hold certain advantages over others, as its miniproteins might be easier to produce and able to impact a broader array of targets.

The field of radiopharmaceuticals “is still in its infancy,” as many emerging companies are focused on a pair of proven targets, the company wrote in its IPO filing. Aktis sees a “significant opportunity to broaden the cancer patient populations” benefiting from the technology.

Aktis’ lead program, “AKY-1189,” targets the same Nectin-4 protein as Padcev, a bladder cancer drug owned by Pfizer. The company noted how, despite its commercial success, Padcev’s impact beyond bladder cancer could be limited by the need to develop a specific type of companion diagnostic for use. Aktis is leaning on its own technology to find the patients most likely to benefit, and sees the potential to address other cancers, such as tumors of the lung and breast. Preliminary study results are expected in 2027, the company said.

Aktis has a second drug targeting B7-H3, another well-studied protein involved in tumor growth, in preclinical testing. It’s also working with Lilly to generate “novel” radiopharmaceuticals against other targets, according to its filing.