Lycia Therapeutics Raises $318M in IPO, Begins Nasdaq Trading as LYCA

Lycia Therapeutics, a developer of protein-degrading medicines, raised nearly $318 million in an initial public offering and began trading Friday on the Nasdaq under the ticker "LYCA." The offering adds to a run of more than two dozen drugmaker IPOs in 2026, about two-thirds of which have exceeded $250 million in proceeds, according to BioPharma Dive data. Lycia sold roughly 3 million more shares than anticipated. The company has three drugs in development. Lead candidates LCA-0061, an antibody-small molecule conjugate for allergic conditions, and LCA-0321, a protein-small molecule for Graves' disease, are both in Phase 1 testing with data expected in 2027. LCA-0062, another allergy-targeting drug, could produce topline data as early as the second half of 2027. Lycia was co-founded in part by Nobel laureate Carolyn Bertozzi. Eli Lilly paid $35 million up front in a 2021 collaboration focused on pain and immune diseases. Lycia has raised $267 million in venture capital, with Versant Ventures holding about 19% prior to the IPO.