Elixir Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced its intentions to raise $86.3 million in an initial public offering, according to a
S-1 filing
with the SEC. The company did not indicate a specific IPO date but did
note that it would use the proceeds to fund pre-commercial activities
for its lead drug candidates Glinsuna and Metgluna which are set to
seek approval in 2009.
""We are a pharmaceutical company focused
on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel
pharmaceuticals for the treatment of metabolic diseases such as
diabetes and obesity," said the Elixir Pharmaceuticals in its filing
with the SEC. "We mine the pathways involved in the regulation of aging
discovered by our founders to identify novel mechanisms leading to the
development of compounds to treat a range of metabolic diseases and
disorders."
Elixir Pharmaceuticals recently reported closing a
$28 million Series D round of venture capital earlier this month, with
$10 million coming from Novartis AG. The company also raised $100
million in the past from backers like MPM Capital and Arch Partners.
There is clearly a lot of interest in the company's drugs and many are
hoping that Wall Street will share the same enthusiasm despite IPO'ing
before a drug launch.
"Our product pipeline includes a number of
programs which we believe will have significant advantages over
existing products and will address unmet medical needs of the large
metabolic disease markets," added the company in its statement with the
SEC. "These include our phase III programs, Glinsuna (mitiglinide) and
Metgluna (mitiglinide plus metformin) for the treatment of type 2
diabetes, and our novel ghrelin antagonist which represents a potential
next-generation treatment for a range of metabolic diseases."
In
the end, there is a tough IPO market at the moment that may cause some
troubles, especially given the fact that the company has yet to produce
a drug that it can sell in the United States. However, the drugs in its
pipeline are in Phase III and are very promising. This makes Elixir a
stock
worth watching!
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