Life Sciences: Four Paths to Public

​Life Sciences: The Four Paths to Public

​If you're planning your company's path to the public markets around the IPO you watched a competitor complete a few years ago, you're planning around a market that no longer exists. Traditional IPOs are back in 2026—but so are SPACs, reverse mergers, and direct listings, each answering a different question: how certain does your capital need to be, how much time do you have, and how much risk can your board absorb?

Join Winston Taylor partners Mike Blankenship (Managing Partner, Houston; Co-Chair, Capital Markets Practice) and Eric Johnson (Co-Chair, Public Company Advisory Practice) for a fast-moving, 40-minute session built for the people who actually make this call—Directors, CEOs, CFOs, GCs.

​You'll leave with a practical framework for weighing your real options—traditional IPO, SPAC/de-SPAC, reverse merger into a public shell, and direct listing—against what actually determines which one fits: capital certainty, timeline, your existing shareholder base, and how much SEC and litigation risk you're prepared to carry. We'll ground the discussion in current 2026 market data, then walk through the legal and governance differences your full board will want answered before you commit to a path.

Register today for a clear-eyed framework—before the market narrows your options for you.

​Discussion topics will include:

• ​2026 market data and deal volume across all four paths

• ​Typical timelines, cost, and capital certainty for each route

• ​Registration, disclosure, and liability exposure differences

• ​Exchange listing standards and governance considerations

• ​A practical decision framework for choosing your path

​SPEAKERS

​Mike Blankenship — Managing Partner, Houston office, and Co-Chair, Capital Markets, Winston Taylor MergerLinks ranked Mike the #1 de-SPAC lawyer in North America for FY2025, on nine transactions. He'll focus on route selection, timing and recurring execution risk.

​Eric Johnson — Chair, Public Company Advisory Practice, Winston Taylor. Eric will bring the public-company readiness perspective: disclosure, governance, SEC requirements and the issues management teams need to address before becoming a reporting company.

​GROUND RULES

​Educational only, not legal advice. Attending doesn't create an attorney-client relationship, and it isn't a step toward changing counsel. The session isn't recorded and the attendee list stays private. Please don't share confidential or material nonpublic information.