Merck veteran Perlmutter-led Eikon Therapeutics valued at $860 million in Nasdaq debut

By Atharva Singh and Arasu Kannagi Basil

Feb 5 (Reuters) - Drug developer Eikon Therapeutics, headed by Merck veteran Roger Perlmutter, was valued at about $860.3 ​million after its shares opened 5.3% below their offer price in ‌their Nasdaq debut on Thursday.

The Millbrae, California-based company's shares opened at $17.05 apiece, compared with the $18 offer ‌price. Eikon sold roughly 21.2 million shares in an upsized IPO at the top end of its marketed range of $16 to $18 to raise $381.2 million.

Eikon's debut comes amid a busy start for biotech IPOs this year following a subdued 2025, when regulatory ⁠changes at U.S. health agencies ‌and federal funding cuts dissuaded many drug developers from going pubic.

Cancer drug developer Aktis Oncology went public in New York ‍last month, while hair-restoration drug developer Veradermics debuted on Wednesday. Drug developers SpyGlass Pharma and AgomAb Therapeutics are poised to go public in New York on Friday.

While the IPO market ​has started 2026 on a steady footing, investors continue to remain highly ‌selective. Analysts say strong demand during roadshows and top-of-range pricing are no longer enough.

Eikon was founded in 2019 by Chemistry Nobel Prize winner Eric Betzig, along with Xavier Darzacq, Luke Lavis and Robert Tjian, and is developing a pipeline of experimental treatments for cancer.

"Eikon's main asset is in a class of drugs that ⁠stimulates the patient's own immune system but ​has historically struggled with systemic toxicity issues," said ​IPOX research associate Lukas Muehlbauer.

"However, Eikon aims to succeed by using biomarker-guided dosing to balance immune activation with tolerability, avoiding the uncontrolled ‍inflammation that derailed previous ⁠trials.

Perlmutter, the former Merck research chief, is considered a major force ⁠behind the success of the drugmaker's blockbuster cancer treatment Keytruda.

Eikon's most advanced drug candidate, ⁠EIK1001, is being tested in combination with Merck's Keytruda in a mid-to-late stage trial for ‌a form of skin cancer.

(Reporting by Atharva Singh and Arasu Kannagi ‌Basil in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)