Public Company Edition: OS Therapies launched this year’s smallest initial public offering, to fund its lead program in osteosarcoma. Also, Australian firm Telix, after opting out of a US IPO, grossed A$650m ($425.5m) from investors at home. Day One raised $175m in a private placement.

The US FDA approved Day One’s pediatric brain cancer drug Ojemda, ImmunityBio’s bladder cancer immunotherapy Anktiva, an uncomplicated UTI claim for Utility Therapeutics’ Pivya, which has a long history in Europe, and Pfizer’s hemophilia B gene therapy Beqvez.

Technical challenges and lackluster investor sentiment about the near-term commercial potential of cell and gene therapies in neurological disorders may be holding the field back.

Biotech entrepreneurs tend to be an optimistic group, and there were many pockets of hope for 2024. However, the consensus remains that depressed valuations and paucity of fresh funds will continue to pose a challenge for the sector, and companies will need to prioritize carefully and work even harder to demonstrate and create value.