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IPO Update: Returns Halved As Two Biopharmas Go Public In April; Unity Is May's First

 
• By Mandy Jackson

Only two drug developers launched offerings in April and the average 2018 IPO return was just 9% – half the first quarter average – at the end of last month. Unity's May 1 offering was the 17th biopharma IPO this year.

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There was a lot of initial public offering activity in the US during April, but with returns from newly public companies falling again during the month, only two biopharmaceutical companies – MorphoSys AG and Surface Oncology Inc. – managed to launch IPOs.

The average return for the 16 drug developers that went public through April 30 was 9% at the end of...

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