A San Diego biotech betting on RNA-based medicine is asking Wall Street for a valuation of up to $1.74 billion as it heads toward a Nasdaq debut. ADARx Pharmaceuticals plans to offer 21.9 million shares priced between $15 and $17 apiece.
The offering, first detailed by Reuters, would see ADARx list under the ticker symbol ADRX. AbbVie and ADARx have previously worked together: AbbVie paid ADARx $335 million upfront to secure options on next-generation siRNA therapeutics across several disease areas, according to Fierce Biotech.
What ADARx Is Actually Building
ADARx describes itself as a late-stage biotechnology company focused on turning cutting-edge science into next-generation RNA medicines across a wide range of therapeutic areas, per a statement from ADARx Pharmaceuticals. The company's pipeline spans experimental drugs targeting kidney disease, immune conditions, cardiovascular disease and neurological disorders, and it currently has three programs in clinical testing plus two more in advanced preclinical development.
Its furthest-along candidate is onvuzosiran, now in Phase 3 development to prevent hereditary angioedema, a rare genetic disorder that causes sudden, painful swelling attacks. The drug has already advanced into late-stage testing for the condition, the company's report notes, and it has received Orphan Drug Designation from the FDA for treating hereditary angioedema patients. The Phase 3 STOP-HAE trial plans to enroll roughly 90 patients, randomized to receive onvuzosiran at 300 mg every six months, 240 mg every three months, or a placebo, according to ADARx's own materials.
Where the Money Would Go
Most of the IPO proceeds are earmarked to push ADARx's three clinical-stage siRNA medicines forward, the company's report indicates, with onvuzosiran leading that charge toward a hereditary angioedema treatment. The company was not exactly running low on cash before the offering — it entered 2026 with $427.3 million still in the bank, per the same report from Fierce Biotech.
A Busy Year for Biotech Debuts
ADARx's IPO push lands amid a strong stretch for biotech offerings. Eleven biotechs have raised more than $300 million in IPOs so far in 2026, matching the total from 2021 and surpassing what the previous four years managed combined, according to BioPharma Dive. Every one of the 21 biotechs that have gone public this year had a drug already in human testing, and all eleven that banked $300 million or more had an asset in at least Phase 2 development, the outlet reports.
Rare-disease drugmaker Electra Therapeutics just gave a preview of that appetite, pricing an upsized IPO of 23,333,334 shares at $15 apiece for roughly $350 million in gross proceeds, according to a BioSpace release. Electra began trading on Nasdaq under the ticker ETRA and plans to use the money to keep developing ipsoprubart, an experimental treatment for secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis that is already in a registrational trial, per BioPharma Dive's reporting. This year's run of large biotech listings has also included Parabilis Medicines and Kailera Therapeutics, Fierce Biotech notes.
Why Investors Are Circling Back to Biotech
ADARx, based in San Diego, is pursuing a bet on RNA medicine.
