aibioAbsci raises $100 million at $7.41 a share with Eli Lilly among buyers
Tickers ABSI
The offering followed interim phase 1 data for ABS-201. Proceeds fund the antibody's hair loss and endometriosis programs.
Key facts
- Company
- Absci Corporation (NASDAQ: ABSI)
- News type
- Financings
- Primary source
- Absci
Absci priced an underwritten offering of 13,495,277 shares at $7.41 each on June 24, 2026, raising about $100 million before fees. Eli Lilly, Adage, BVF Partners, Columbia Threadneedle, Invus and Redmile took part, along with an unnamed large investment management firm.
Jefferies, J.P. Morgan, TD Cowen and Guggenheim Securities were joint book-running managers. The deal was expected to close on or about June 25, the company said. Absci said it would use the money to advance ABS-201, its prolactin receptor antibody for pattern hair loss and endometriosis, and for working capital.
The details
Absci later reported $93.6 million in net proceeds from the offering, in its second-quarter release. The same release said Lilly made a $40 million strategic equity investment. The arrangement is tailored to ABS-201's clinical development strategy and gives Lilly no rights to the program. A Lilly representative joined Absci's endometriosis advisory board.
The raise came on the same day Absci reported interim phase 1 data showing no serious adverse events in 32 healthy adults and an estimated half-life of at least 65 days for ABS-201.
Context
Before the deal, Absci had $125.7 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities at March 31, 2026, down from $144.3 million at the end of 2025, and guided to runway into the first half of 2028. It lost $29.6 million in the first quarter. After the raise, cash stood at $201.1 million at June 30 and runway guidance moved to the second half of 2028.
The offering price was above the level of early May. Absci set the exercise price of a May 1 inducement option at $4.92, the Nasdaq closing price that day.
In May the company said it expected to sign one or more partnerships in 2026, including one with a large drugmaker, per its first-quarter release.
What it means for investors
Absci raised money after clean early safety data, at a price above the $4.92 close of May 1, for a company with one clinical asset. The named buyers include several dedicated biotech investors, and the Lilly check adds a strategic name.
The terms deserve a close read. Lilly gets no rights, so the investment does not lock in a partner. Absci's own guidance for a large pharma partnership in 2026 has not yet been met in its public releases. The new shares also add about 13.5 million to the count, and every later raise before a product reaches market will add more. The bet behind the raise is that ABS-201 shows hair regrowth in people with pattern hair loss. Phase 1 drugs reach approval only 7.9% of the time on published base rates.
What to watch
Absci reports third-quarter results on Nov. 12, 2026. Interim hair loss proof-of-concept data are due in the second half of 2026, and full data in early 2027.