Immunology biotech Agomab Therapeutics and eye-focused SpyGlass Pharma have both unveiled their intentions to go public, in the latest sign that the IPO window is reopening in 2026.
Neither company has set out how many shares they are planning to sell, or at what price, but Agomab said the top spending priority for its own IPO proceeds will be its two clinical-stage candidates.
One of these, ontunisertib, is an ALK5 inhibitor that has already proven its ability to target the correct part of the intestine in a phase 2 trial of fibrostenosing Crohn’s disease last year. That study also hit its secondary endpoints, which included showing changes in mRNA gene expression in biopsies of the ileum, part of the small intestine that can be constricted as a part of fibrostenosing Crohn’s disease.
The study was financed by a $100 million series C that the Antwerp, Belgium-based biotech hauled in back in October 2023.
Now, Agomab hopes to use some of the IPO proceeds to launch a global phase 2b study of ontunisertib in fibrostenosing Crohn’s disease. Around 1.4 million patients are treated for Crohn’s disease across the U.S., France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the U.K. and Japan, with around 46% having the fibrostenosing form, according to Agomab’s Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
Agomab launched in 2019 to take forward the work of Paolo Michieli, Ph.D., who has researched hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) at the University of Torino for more than two decades. HGF plays a role in cell functions such as proliferation, survival and differentiation and can promote wound healing and tissue regeneration.
In 2021, Agomab bought Origo Biopharma, adding small-molecule drug candidates that target the transforming growth factor beta. They included ontunisertib, which Agomab hopes can be used in combination with other Crohn’s drugs to help tamp down the disease and stop the scarring in those with fibrostenotic disease.
Some of the planned IPO proceeds will also be used to launch a phase 2 study of AGMB-447, another ALK5 inhibitor acquired through the Origo buyout. Agomab is already running a phase 1 study of AGMB-447 in both healthy volunteers and patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), with a topline readout expected later this year.
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The other company that outlined its IPO ambitions on Friday was SpyGlass. The California-based biotech is working on long-acting versions of approved medicines for chronic eye conditions.
SpyGlass’ lead product is a drug-eluting intraocular lens designed to deliver multiple years of bimatoprost and thereby free patients from the need to administer eye drops. The device features drug-eluting pads attached to a single-piece, hydrophobic acrylic intraocular lens, and SpyGlass envisages physicians implanting the device during routine cataract surgery.
Proceeds from the IPO would be used to fund this product—called the Bimatoprost Drug Pad-IOL System—in a pair of ongoing phase 3 trials. If those studies are a success, the IPO funds would also be used to help bankroll a commercial launch.
A phase 1/2 study of the BIM-IOL System has previously tied 78 mcg and 39 mcg dose cohorts to intraocular pressure reductions of 37% and 36%, respectively. Based on this data, SpyGlass launched the two phase 3 studies for open-angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension in July 2025, with readouts pencilled in for 2027.
Both Agomab’s and SpyGlass’ leadership will likely be hoping to repeat the success of Aktis Oncology, which became the first biotech to go public in 2026. The radiopharmaceutical developer’s upsized $318 million offering was not only the largest biotech IPO since 2024, but the company’s shares continued to trade last week above their $18 debut price.
Aktis’ success, as well as the recently announced intentions of Agomab, SpyGlass and cancer biotech Eikon Therapeutics to also go public, give credence to the predictions made by industry observers to Fierce last year that the IPO window could finally be re-opening in 2026.
