Japan’s cell therapy company Innovacell is set to break the drought of biotechnology initial public offerings (IPOs) on the Tokyo Stock Exchange next week, as confirmed by its CEO. The company is planning its public listing for February 24, and has outlined its intentions in a recent document.
Innovacell aims to offer 8.4 million shares at an initial price of 1,350 Japanese yen per share, which has been established with the guidance of the company’s lead underwriter, Colin Lee Novick. Additionally, underwriters will have the option to acquire 725,300 shares, with a further 1.4 million shares being made available through an overallotment arrangement.
This IPO is expected to generate approximately 14.17 billion yen (around $92 million) for Innovacell. Novick expressed confidence in the timing of the listing, noting the favorable conditions in Japan’s Nikkei stock market and the company’s ongoing multi-regional phase 3 clinical trial for ICEF15, a regenerative treatment aimed at addressing urge fecal incontinence.
Novick highlighted the growing interest from institutional investors in late-stage biotech opportunities, where the primary focus shifts from developmental risks to challenges associated with commercialization. He stated, “We believe we are at that inflection point,” underscoring the company’s readiness for public investment.
Innovacell’s origins trace back to its establishment as a cell therapy start-up spun out from the Medical University of Innsbruck in Austria. It was officially founded in Japan in 2021, positioning itself as the parent company of the Austrian entity.
The company’s most recent fundraising round was a series D in August 2025, which netted 7.3 billion yen (approximately $48 million). These funds were earmarked for advancing the phase 3 trial of ICEF15 in Japan and Europe, while also preparing for a late-stage study in the United States. Furthermore, part of the funding was allocated to establishing the necessary infrastructure for manufacturing and marketing ICEF15 across Japan, the U.S., and Europe, as well as enhancing research and development for other pipeline products.
Despite some biotech IPOs occurring on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2024—such as those from Veritas In Silico, Chordia Therapeutics, and Heartseed—no drug development firms pursued public offerings in Japan during the previous year. This lack of activity reflected broader trends of subdued biotech IPOs worldwide in 2025. However, industry experts suggest that the year 2026 is poised for a resurgence in public listings, with companies preparing for major launches on exchanges like Nasdaq, and potentially a revival of biotech IPOs in markets such as London.
