MapLight Therapeutics plans to raise $251m through an IPO, offering 14,750,000 shares at $17.00 each on the Nasdaq Global Market. The biotech used a regulatory workaround to proceed amid a US government shutdown. If successful, most funds will go towards schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease research. Big pharma investors include Sanofi and Novo Nordisk.

MapLight’s IPO would follow LB Pharmaceuticals’ $285m debut, making it the largest biotech IPO of 2025 so far. A renewed interest in schizophrenia treatments follows the FDA approval of Bristol Myers Squibb’s Cobenfy in 2024, with projected sales of $3.8bn by 2031. MapLight and LB’s efforts hint at a strong finish for the 2025 IPO scene.

The 2025 IPO landscape is showing signs of recovery, with optimism at the start of the year. Companies like Metsera, Maze Therapeutics, and Aardvark Therapeutics conducted successful IPOs in January. However, market volatility due to macroeconomic shifts in the US has created an unpredictable environment, leading some companies like Odyssey Therapeutics to bail on planned IPOs.

Read more at Yahoo Finance: MapLight’s $251m IPO sees schizophrenia drug developers on top