Life Sciences Daily Summary
Life Sciences Daily Summary: What Happened on October 25, 2026
Lycia raises $317.5 million in IPO as cancer data lead ESMO’s clinical news
The financing will fund Lycia’s protein-degrading drug candidates, while ESMO findings covered prostate and pancreatic cancer treatments.
Today in brief
Lycia Therapeutics brought in $317.5 million through an upsized Nasdaq IPO to develop candidates for food allergy and Graves’ disease.1 Preliminary Phase 1 data showed an average maximum 96% reduction in immunoglobulin E, or IgE, with its lead food-allergy candidate, LCA-0061, the company said.1
At the European Society for Medical Oncology meeting, darolutamide lowered the risk of metastasis or death by 58% in a prostate cancer trial, while long-term findings associated abiraterone with longer survival in another study.2 In pancreatic cancer, 22 evaluable patients treated with Tango Therapeutics’ combination had an 82% response rate, and the company expects to start a Phase III trial in 2027.2
Lycia raises $317.5 million to advance three drug candidates
Lycia raised $317.5 million by selling 17.64 million shares at $18 each, after adding more than 2.9 million shares to its IPO.1 Shares reached $36.49 and closed their first trading day at $30, more than 66% above the offering price.1
Lycia’s lead candidate, LCA-0061, is in Phase 1 testing for food allergy and is designed to degrade IgE, an antibody involved in allergic reactions.1 Among participants with elevated IgE, preliminary results showed an average maximum reduction of 96% from baseline. Lycia said most participants maintained reductions above 95% 28 days after dosing.1
Lycia expects to report more Phase 1 results for LCA-0061 in 2027 and plans to begin a Phase 1 study of LCA-0062 next year.1 Its third candidate, LCA-0321, is in Phase 1 testing for Graves’ disease, with preliminary results expected next year.1 Lycia plans to use IPO proceeds to advance all three candidates through Phase 2 testing. The company estimates its capital will last into the second half of 2029.1
ESMO data span prostate cancer survival and pancreatic cancer responses
In the DASL-HiCaP prostate cancer trial, adding darolutamide to the specified treatments reduced the risk of metastasis or death by 58% versus placebo.2 After a median 3.8 years of follow-up, four-year metastasis-free survival was 95% with darolutamide and 88% with placebo. The hazard ratio was 0.42.2 Darolutamide also lowered the risk of prostate-specific antigen progression by 53%.2
After almost eight years of follow-up in the 1,173-participant PEACE-1 trial, adding abiraterone to standard care was associated with a 25% lower risk of death and median survival of 6.1 years, versus 4.6 years without abiraterone.2 Among patients with high-volume disease, median survival was 4.6 years with triplet treatment and 3.5 years with doublet treatment. Eight-year survival was 38% and 20%, respectively.2 For low-volume disease, median survival was 7.8 years with triplet treatment and 6.2 years with doublet treatment, but that difference was not statistically significant on its own.2
In a Phase 1 study of Tango Therapeutics’ vopimetostat and Rasonque combination for pancreatic cancer, 22 evaluable patients had an 82% response rate and an 88% nine-month progression-free survival rate.2 Median progression-free survival had not been reached at the data cutoff. Tango expects to start a registrational Phase III study in the first half of 2027.2