The GLP-1 IPO arena has been heating up for the past two years and Metsera’s ask is one the largest in recent history.
Metsera is moving fast. Nine months post-launch and two weeks after announcing its plans for an IPO, the New York City–based weight-loss company said Monday that it is seeking a $1.78 billion valuation and a $250 million raise. Metsera is offering 17.19 million shares priced between $15 and $17.
The raise could be as high as $289.1 million if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares.
Those proceeds will go toward a Phase III trial for Metsera’s lead molecule, MET-097i, an injectable, long-acting GLP-1 receptor agonist. In early January, the company reported Phase II data showing as much as 20% weight loss in some patients.
Metsera exited stealth in April 2024 with $290 million in funding, followed by an additional $215 million raised a few months later.
The substantial financing and large IPO targets set by Metsera are indicative of the swell of money entering the obesity treatment field, with a total estimated valuation of $100 - $150 billion per year by 2030. The lead technology driving MET-097i is its long half-life, according to Metsera, which in Phase II trials increased in concentration over a 12-week period, potentially allowing for less frequent injections.
The IPO market for GLP-1 agonists has gained heat over the last two years. Raises from similar companies reached into the neighborhood of Metsera’s hoped-for $289.1 million. In September 2024 MBX Biosciences raised about $188 million at $16 per share (currently trading at about $10), and in October, BioAge Labs raised $283 million in an IPO at $18 per share (currently trading at about $5 per share after losing 75% of its value in December). Earlier in the year, Fractyl Health raised approximately $110 million to fund a GLP-1 gene therapy. Carmot Therapeutics, yet another GLP-1 developer, had plans to go public before being bought out by Roche for $2.7 billion.
