Public Company Edition: NGM went public a week after Genfit, but endured a rockier start, trading below its IPO price. Also, Blueprint, Tricida and Sangamo launch large offerings after positive clinical and regulatory updates.

Suzhou-based immuno-oncology specialist CStone raised a $260m Series B round and Brii launched with $260m in Series A cash to develop drugs for the China market. Also, multiple start-ups launched recently with more than $50m in Series A rounds, including Ansun, Beam, Casma, Celsius and Neurana.

With an average return of 33.2% in 2017, the number of biopharma IPOs that launched last year rose to 42 after falling to 30 in 2016 compared with 62 in 2015. Following a rough fourth quarter for biopharma stocks, will the IPO momentum continue in 2018?

There have been 29 IPOs in the US through the third quarter of 2017 with an average return of 35.2%, including three offerings on the same day – Deciphera, Nightstar and NuCana – near the end of September.