Novo Holdings-backed Windward Bio valued at $1 billion as shares rise in Nasdaq debut

By Pragyan Kalita

Nov 13 (Reuters) - Novo Holdings-backed Windward Bio was valued at $1.07 billion after its shares opened above their IPO price in their Nasdaq debut on Friday.

Shares opened at $18.35 after the Basel, Switzerland-based company priced its IPO at $17 per share within its marketed range of $16 to $18, raising $175 million.

• The debut comes as the broader IPO market struggles with an AI-driven tech selloff and higher-for-longer interest rates, while biotech IPOs have stood apart as a bright spot

• The biotech sector itself has seen a revival in activity this year amid President Donald Trump's policy shifts and sweeping changes to the US Food and Drug Administration

• More than half a dozen biotech firms ​have gone public in New York since September

• "In IPO lulls, we see that the biotech sector is sometimes not truly affected by the broader market. With large chunky orders in biotech order books and smaller transaction sizes as a whole, these offerings are much more manageable and easier to complete (for the companies)," Jeff Zell, senior research analyst at IPO Boutique, told Reuters

• Windward ⁠is developing antibody medicines for patients with serious respiratory and dermatologic diseases, including asthma, ​chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and atopic dermatitis

• French ​drugmaker ⁠Sanofi has agreed to purchase $50 million of shares and pre-funded warrants in a private placement

• Windward's CEO, Luca Santarelli, is an industry veteran who previously led VectivBio and Therachon, which sold for $1.2 billion and $810 million, respectively

(Reporting by Pragyan Kalita in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)