Shares of weight-loss drug developer Kylera Therapeutics surged 62.5% on Friday after closing a $625 million US initial public offering in its Nasdaq debut, as Wall Street’s appetite for the fast-growing market remained insatiable.

The success of new weight-loss therapies has sparked a rush of investment as drugmakers race to challenge pharma giants Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk in what is expected to be a $150-billion annual market by the end of the decade.

Calera sold about 39 million shares worth $16, the top end of its marketed range. Shares opened at $26 each.

The spring IPO market is on the upswing, with many big deals closing after a brief ‘March lull’ with tech selling on fears of disruption by AI weighing on volatility linked to the Middle East conflict and sentiment.

The listing also signals a potential turnaround for the biotechnology IPO market, which has been muted in recent years, although weight-loss drug developers previously bucked the trend.

Calera rival Metsera raised $275 million in its January 2025 IPO at a $1.8 billion valuation. Late last year, pharma giant Pfizer closed a deal worth up to $10 billion to buy Metsera after a fierce bidding war.

“Obesity is one of the few areas in biotech with clear investor appetite, especially as deals like Pfizer’s acquisition of Metsera reinforce the idea that promising GLP-1 companies can attract strategic buyers,” said IPOX Research Associate Lucas Mühlbauer.

Kailera’s lead product, KAI-9531, is in global Phase 3 trials as a once-weekly injectable targeting GLP-1/GIP. GLP-1 drugs are on track to become the largest drug class in history.

The company is also developing an oral drug, KAI-7535, a once-in-a-lifetime small molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist.

“With readouts for its lead program not expected until 2028, near-term trading in the stock is likely to be impacted by fundamentals in the obesity-drug space,” Muhlbauer said.