Pursuits

Biotech Led by 29-Year-Old CEO Now Worth Billions With No Sales

What's Behind the Soaring Pay for Biotech Executives?

Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

Investors are giving Axovant Sciences Ltd. an almost $3 billion valuation after its public-market debut. Not bad for a company that is years away from making a dime of sales, if it ever does.

Axovant, which is developing one treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, raised $315 million in its initial public offering Wednesday night, the largest ever deal for a pre-revenue biotech company, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Its shares almost doubled Thursday, yielding a market value of $2.87 billion.