Aardvark Therapeutics (AARD.US) has filed for a $100M US IPO.

Aardvark Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on developing new small molecule therapies for metabolic diseases, filed an IPO application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday to raise up to $100 million. The company's lead candidate, ARD-101 (denatonium acetate monohydrate), is an oral gut-restricted small molecule agonist that inhibits certain bitter taste receptors (TAS2Rs) expressed in the lumen of the intestine. Aardvark has initiated a pivotal Phase 3 trial of ARD-101 for the treatment of hyperphagia associated with Prader-Willi Syndrome, with data expected to be released in early 2026. The company also plans to evaluate ARD-101 in a Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of hyperphagia associated with acquired hypothalamic obesity following treatment for craniopharyngioma, including surgery or radiation. Aardvark Therapeutics was founded in 2017 and plans to list on the Nasdaq under the ticker AARD. The company filed confidentially on October 24, 2024, and Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Securities, Cantor Fitzgerald, and RBC Capital Markets are joint bookrunners for the transaction. No pricing terms were disclosed.