With three successful biotech debuts having kicked off 2026, Generate:Biomedicines is the latest to join the busy IPO queue. The firm, which is using AI to computationally generate therapeutic candidates, joins Agomab Therapeutics and SpyGlass Pharma in the wings. The steady pace of new public offerings — all of which have been upsized — suggests that biotech has turned a new leaf from 2025's dismal IPO conditions, which saw two-thirds fewer debuts than 2024 (see – Vital Signs: 2025 by the numbers — a tumultuous year in review). The title for 2026's largest IPO so far goes to Eikon Therapeutics, which raised about $381 million late on Wednesday, though the offerings from the other two newly public biotechs are nothing to sneeze at. Radiopharma Aktis Oncology, which claimed the year's first IPO, and hair-loss drug developer Veradermics, bagged about $318 million and $256 million, respectively. AI designed asthma, cancer drugsGenerate made waves in December after it revealed that its lead candidate GB-0895 — a long-acting antibody designed with AI to block the inflammation-driving cytokine TSLP — was headed to Phase III testing for asthma. The company's Generate Platform integrates generative and predictive models with biohardware systems like DNA assembly, protein production, multiplexed assay miniaturisation and cryogenic electron microscopy to measure billions of molecules whilst generating structural data. That data is then used to improve the platform's next cycle of machine learning–made hypotheses. To engineer therapeutic candidates with specific properties, the Generate Platform comprises three modular capabilities: programmable binding, programmable function, and programmable composition and developability.According to Generate, GB-0895 was developed using the binding affinity and developability optimisation modules. In addition to the Phase III SOLAIRIA-1 and SOLAIRIA-2 asthma studies — expected to be fully enrolled by the second half of 2027 and the first half of 2028, respectively — the antibody is being studied in a Phase Ib trial for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; data are due this half. The biotech's early-stage pipeline features two cancer candidates slated to enter the clinic this year. The first, GB-4362, is a mAb designed to neutralise free monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE) when given as an adjunctive therapy alongside an antibody-drug conjugate that delivers an MMAE payload. The company has also developed an armoured MUC16-directed CAR-T cell therapy, dubbed GB-5267, in collaboration with Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. The cell therapy is targeting platinum-resistant ovarian cancer and other solid tumours. In addition to its internal portfolio, Generate has inked development deals with Amgen and Novartis. The company thinks its AI technology can take a candidate to proof-of-concept in three to five years, much shorter than the traditional six-to-eight-year timeline — and at a cost of roughly $25 million to $60 million, compared to the current price tag of about $380 million.