--- title: Windward Bio Shares Close 68% Above Their $17 IPO Price in Nasdaq Debut description: Windward Bio priced its IPO at $17 and closed its first Nasdaq day at $28.50. Its lead asthma antibody is licensed from Chinese drugmakers. author: Darie Nani (Editor-in-Chief) date: 2026-11-15T19:55:13.373Z updated: 2026-11-15T19:55:13.395Z canonical: https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/windward-bio-ipo-price image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/pexels-close-up-of-a-scientist-using-a-pipette-in-a-lab-with-a-focu-8940471.jpg categories: Markets content_type: News region: Global publication: Sovereign Magazine schema_type: Article about: - type: Organization name: Windward Bio description: Basel-based clinical-stage biotechnology company developing ultra-long-acting antibody medicines for respiratory and dermatologic diseases, listed on Nasdaq as WWB. url: https://windwardbio.com --- Windward Bio (Nasdaq: WWB) shares closed at $28.50 on November 13, their first day of trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, 68% above the $17 IPO price. Windward priced 10,294,117 shares at the midpoint of its $16 to $18 range on November 12, according to its pricing announcement filed with the SEC, raising about $175 million. Sanofi bought a further $50 million of shares and pre-funded warrants at the same price in a concurrent private placement, bringing gross proceeds to about $225 million before costs and before the underwriters' 30-day option on up to 1,544,117 more shares. The offering is expected to close on November 16. WWB stock opened at $18.35 and traded as high as $33.985 during the session, according to Nasdaq trading data, with about 1.28 million shares changing hands. Qiming Venture Partners, an existing investor that bought shares in the IPO, says the company had a market capitalization of about $1.69 billion at the closing price. In May, Windward raised an upsized $165 million crossover round led by OrbiMed, with RA Capital Management, Janus Henderson Investors and Sanofi Ventures joining earlier investors including [Novo Holdings](https://novoholdings.com/news/novo-holdings-joins-165-million-crossover-financing-for-windward-bio-to-advance-pipeline-of-long-acting-immunology-therapies-with-best-in-disease-potential) and Qiming. ## Windward Licensed Its Lead Antibody From Two Chinese Drugmakers Windward was founded in 2024, is incorporated under Swiss law and is led by Luca Santarelli, its founder, chief executive and board chair. It holds global rights outside Greater China and certain other Asian countries to its lead drug, WIN378, an anti-TSLP antibody, under a license from Sichuan Kelun-Biotech Biopharmaceutical and Harbour BioMed of Shanghai. Its second program, WIN027, is a long-acting bispecific antibody targeting TSLP and IL-13, licensed from Qyuns Therapeutics, which began its own Phase 2 studies of the drug in China in September. The FDA approved Amgen and AstraZeneca's Tezspire, which also targets TSLP, [as an add-on maintenance treatment for severe asthma](https://amgen.com/newsroom/press-releases/2021/12/fda-approves-tezspire-tezepelumabekko-in-the-us-for-severe-asthma) in December 2021. In the Phase 2 portion of POLARIS-1, Windward's trial in severe uncontrolled asthma, WIN378 had an observed half-life of up to 75 days, which the company believes supports twice-yearly injections under the skin. Novo Holdings said in May that WIN378 "has the potential to be the first-to-market, ultra long-acting anti-TSLP antibody with twice-yearly dosing." The listing comes as the US Treasury weighs new limits on American investment in Chinese biotech: it has proposed rules under the COINS Act that would add biotechnology to its Outbound Investment Security Program. As [we reported in October](https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/how-will-outbound-investment-restrictions-affect-biotech), the proposal exempts publicly traded shares, and licensing agreements are not on Treasury's list of covered transactions. The rules are not yet final. ## Kailera Raised $625 Million on Nasdaq in April With Drugs Licensed From Hengrui Kailera Therapeutics, founded in 2024 like Windward, reached Nasdaq in April on weight-loss drugs licensed from Shanghai-based Hengrui Pharmaceuticals. It sold more than 39 million shares at $16 to raise $625 million, above the $500 million it first set out to raise. Its backers include Bain Capital, Atlas Venture and Arch Venture Partners. ## Biotechs Accounted for Seven of October's Nine Listings Eight IPOs raised $1.2 billion in October, and biotech companies made up seven of the month's nine listings, according to [Renaissance Capital's October market review](https://www.renaissancecapital.com/IPO-Center/News/122531/Renaissance-Capital%E2%80%99s-October-IPO-Market-Update). Lycia Therapeutics upsized its deal, priced at the top of its range to raise $318 million, and rose 67% in its debut. Nearly two-thirds of October's traditional IPOs finished below their issue price, and the Renaissance IPO Index fell 10% for the month. ## Phase 3 Results for WIN378 Are Expected in the First Half of 2029 Windward began the Phase 3 portion of POLARIS-1 in September, testing two twice-yearly dose levels chosen from the Phase 2 analysis, and expects topline results in the first half of 2029. A Phase 2 study of WIN378 in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, called SIRIUS, began in June. ## FAQ **Q: What was Windward Bio's IPO price?** $17 a share. Sanofi Foreign Participations B.V. paid the same price for its $50 million stake, made up of 1,532,691 shares and pre-funded warrants for 1,408,485 shares. **Q: How did WWB stock do on its first day?** Renaissance Capital counts a first-day return of 67.6%. The stock never traded below its $18.35 opening price during the session. **Q: Who are Windward Bio's investors?** Its Series A investors include Novo Holdings, Blue Owl Healthcare Opportunities, SR One, Omega Funds, RTW Investments, Qiming Venture Partners, Quan Capital and Pivotal bioVenture Partners. OrbiMed led the May 2026 crossover round, joined by RA Capital Management, Janus Henderson Investors and Sanofi Ventures, and Sanofi bought a further $50 million alongside the IPO. **Q: When will WIN378 Phase 3 results come?** In the first half of 2029, from both POLARIS-1 and a second Phase 3 study, POLARIS-2, which Windward plans to start recruiting in the first half of 2027.