🔒Veradermics’ IPO raises $256M in stellar NYSE debut

Veradermics Inc., the New Haven drug developer working on an oral treatment for hair loss, raised $256.3 million from its initial public offering on Wednesday. The company’s shares rose 122% in their debut on the New York York Stock Exchange. In advance of the IPO, company officials said they expected to raise about $181.8 million to help carry its lead drug through late-stage development and into early commercialization. Veradermics, led by co-founder and CEO Reid Waldman, had said it planned to sell 13.35 million shares of common stock and had applied to trade under the ticker symbol “MANE.” Underwriters had the option to purchase additional shares, which would increase the total amount raised if exercised. The company, however, closed its first trading day at $37.75 per share, more than double its $17 IPO price, raising $256.3 million in gross proceeds. The IPO was initially marketed at $14 to $16 per share. The IPO drew strong demand from investors, including institutional investors such as Eli Lilly & Co. & Wellington Management. Veradermics ended Wednesday’s session with an implied market capitalization of approximately $1.3 billion, based on outstanding shares disclosed in earlier filings. Veradermics has not discovered a new drug. Instead, it is aiming to improve delivery of a well-known one: minoxidil, a vasodilator first approved as an oral treatment for severe hypertension and later popularized in topical form as Rogaine. Applied to the scalp, minoxidil can stimulate hair regrowth, but results vary and patients often struggle with long-term compliance. The company’s lead product candidate, VDPHL01, is an oral, extended-release formulation of minoxidil designed to provide more consistent exposure over the course of a day. In its SEC filing, Veradermics said the formulation is intended to support hair restoration while minimizing the risk of cardiac activity.