Edgewise Therapeutics Inc. priced an underwritten offering of 21.8 million shares at $11 each as it looks for about $240 million in gross proceeds to develop its Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophies treatment. The offering propelled the company’s stock (NASDAQ:EWTX) Jan. 19 to close 34.5% higher at $13.04 each, their highest valuation in the past 12 months.

Setting the tone for the biopharma industry as it enters a new year, the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference (JPM) held each January has once again led to reflections, projections and earnest hopes for improving financial and M&A markets. Despite concerns over valuations, raising money and pricing issues, industry leaders are generally upbeat as the industry moves into 2024. JPM’s Sophie Jones, managing director of health care investment banking, noted in a Jan. 18 webinar sponsored by the Biotechnology Innovation Organization that the conference included more than 700 companies. “It’s morphing now into really the kickoff into everybody’s year.”