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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