Eikon Therapeutics sold 21+ million shares at $18 apiece to secure $381 million in an initial public offering, marking one of the largest biotech listings this week. The San Francisco–area company raised the proceeds after building a billion-dollar private war chest and positioning itself around super-resolution microscopy and licensed drug candidates. The IPO underscores renewed investor appetite for platform biotechs with deep prior venture backing and experienced management — Eikon’s team includes former Merck executives such as Roger Perlmutter and Roy Baynes. The company plans to deploy funds to advance its drug discovery pipeline and to capitalize on momentum in high‑throughput cell imaging technologies. Market watchers flagged Eikon as emblematic of a possible IPO rebound for mature, capital‑intensive startups; its pricing at the top of range signals confidence from crossover and institutional investors that earlier public offerings have begun to regain traction.