Apnimed IPO: A company backed by an investor in Uber, X, and Revolut has gone public

Pre-market trading in Apnimed shares—a small-cap developer of tablets for the treatment of sleep apnea—has begun on the Freedom trading platform for clients. The company, backed by Alpha Wave— an investor in Uber, Twitter (now X), and Revolut— expects a decision on the drug’s approval in February 2027. If approved, it will compete with Eli Lilly’s best-selling drug, Zepbound, which is also used to treat sleep apnea. Later on July 31, the company’s shares will be listed on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol APMD. To participate, click on the APMD ticker.

Apnimed, whose sole product is designed to treat sleep apnea, raised $192 million in its IPO on the Nasdaq. It sold 12 million shares—20% more than originally planned—at $16 per share, which was the upper end of the initially announced price range ($14–16). As a result, the company’s total market capitalization came to approximately $608 million, according to Bloomberg’s calculations.

The Apnimed IPO was underwritten by BofA Securities, Evercore ISI, Cantor, and LifeSci Capital. They were granted a 30-day option to purchase up to 1.8 million shares of the company.

Apnimed plans to allocate most of the proceeds from the transaction to the drug’s registration and, if approved, its commercialization, according to the company’s IPO prospectus filed with the regulator. Apnimed plans to use the remaining funds for other research projects, as well as to replenish its working capital.

Apnimed was founded in the United States in 2017 by Larry Miller, Barry Vol, and Luigi Taranto to address the problem of sleep apnea—the cessation of breathing during sleep. Currently, the standard treatment for this condition is the use of a CPAP machine, which delivers air through a mask at a constant, low pressure to keep the airways open. This method is effective, but the problem is that many patients discontinue treatment due to discomfort, the company states in its prospectus.

Of the drugs currently on the market, only Zepbound is available, but it is approved for use only in obese adults and in combination with diet and physical activity.

There are no medications that address the underlying cause of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)—neuromuscular dysfunction during sleep—according to Apnimed.

The company is currently working on just such a drug, called Oxnambi. It is a combination of two already known substances—atomoxetine, which is used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and aroxibutynin, which is intended to relieve spasms and relax muscles. Together, they stimulate the motor neurons of the hypoglossal nerve, which prevents the muscles of the pharynx from relaxing and keeps the person from choking in their sleep.

Clinical trials of Oxnimbi have been completed; in mid-July, Apnimed submitted an application for its approval to the U.S. regulatory authority and expects a decision by the end of February 2027.

In the U.S. alone, approximately 80 million people between the ages of 30 and 69 suffer from sleep apnea, according to a study conducted by Clarivate on behalf of Apnimed. But only 20% of them seek diagnosis and treatment, mainly because healthcare providers fail to diagnose obstructive sleep apnea—they simply don’t know that nonspecific symptoms such as fatigue, daytime sleepiness, high blood pressure, and irritability, wrote Jordan Stern, founder and CEO of BlueSleep, a company that specializes in diagnosing sleep disorders.

At the same time, a review published in the journal *Sleep Medicine* in 2024 noted that only one-third of patients with sleep apnea are considered clinically obese and are therefore not eligible for treatment with Zepbound, according to an assessment of Oxnimbi’s prospects by the Pharmaceutical Technology portal.

Among Apnimed’s key risks are its reliance on a single product and its lack of revenue, noted IPO expert Donovan Jones in a column on the Seeking Alpha website. The company itself states in its IPO prospectus that it has incurred significant operating losses since its founding. In 2025, those losses totaled $53.8 million.

Nevertheless, Alem Bektemirov, an analyst at Freedom Finance, is optimistic about the company’s prospects—he has set a target price of $21.20 per share for Apnimed stock, implying a 32% increase from the IPO price. According to Fortune Business Insights, the global market for sleep apnea treatment devices was valued at $10.3 billion in 2025, and is projected to grow to $11 billion in 2026, with a further increase to $22.87 billion by 2034, he noted. Given the current phase of clinical trials, Freedom Finance expects the first commercialization of the Apnimed product by 2028; however, they point out that the company has not yet generated revenue from its products (which are still in development). Furthermore, any additional regulatory requirements could delay or prevent the commercialization of some or all of the company’s products, the analyst warned.

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Freedom clients will be able to trade Apnimed shares before the main trading session opens. Trading will begin in the early pre-market session 2–3 hours before the U.S. markets open (from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Astana time). To participate, click on the APMD ticker.