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Biotech / Medical : Biotech News -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Shawn Donahue who wrote (6691)	11/10/2009 2:33:07 AM
From: Shawn Donahue	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 7143

Trius and Alimera Join Growing Roster of Biotech IPO Hopefuls BioWorld Today - Nov. 10, 2009 Industry experts have been predicting a flood of biotech initial public offerings in the first half of next year, and the waters appear to be rising in preparation for that flood as more companies file IPO paperwork with the SEC. The latest addition is Trius Therapeutics Inc., which filed for an $86 million IPO on Friday as it prepares for Phase III trials of antibiotic torezolid. Ophthalmology player Alimera Sciences Inc. also recently rejoined the queue with an $80 million IPO filing. San Diego-based Trius has been generating quite a bit of buzz with torezolid, an oxazolidinone antibiotic designed to improve on Pfizer Inc.'s blockbuster Zyvox (linezolid). In a recent Phase II trial, the lowest dose of torezolid demonstrated a 98 percent cure rate in complicated skin and skin structure infections, with a 100 percent cure rate for patients with the dreaded methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Those data resulted in a full schedule of back-to-back financing and partnering meetings at the recent Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC), according to a previous BioWorld Insight interview with Trius President and CEO Jeffrey Stein. The company presented 13 torezolid posters at the conference. Torezolid is being developed for both intravenous and oral administration, and Trius has earlier-stage trials underway for other indications like bacteremia and community-acquired bacterial pneumonia. The drug was licensed from Dong-A Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. and has thus far been funded through grants and venture money. (See BioWorld Today, Feb. 28, 2007, and March 24, 2008.) Atlanta-based Alimera, meanwhile, is eyeing an IPO to support two ongoing Phase III trials with Iluvien for diabetic macular edema (DME). The product is an intravitreal insert designed to deliver the nonproprietary corticosteroid fluocinolone acetonide into the back of the eye. Enrollment in the two studies is complete, and initial data are expected next month - making the timing of Alimera's IPO plans particularly interesting. Of course, if Alimera had its way, the company would already be public. It filed for a $75 million IPO last year but was unable to price due to the capital markets crisis. Alimera finally withdrew its IPO paperwork in April, citing unfavorable public market conditions, only to refile a few months later. (See BioWorld Today, July 3, 2008.) Alimera plans to submit a new drug application for Iluvien in DME in the second quarter of 2010, and Phase II trials are ongoing in both wet and dry age-related macular degeneration and retinal vein occlusion. The drug was licensed from Boston-based pSivida Corp. and has been funded with venture money. (See BioWorld Today, March 19, 2008.) The price ranges have not been set for the Trius or Alimera IPOs. Both companies plan to list on the Nasdaq Global Market, with Trius using the ticker symbol "TSRX" and Alimera using "ALIM." Credit Suisse Securities LLC is managing both offerings, joined by Piper Jaffray & Co., Canaccord Adams Inc. and JMP Securities on the Trius book and by Citigroup, Cowen & Co. and Oppenheimer & Co. on the Alimera book. Already in the IPO queue are Anthera Pharmaceuticals Inc., a cardiovascular company that filed for a $70 million offering in September; Aldagen Inc., a stem cell firm that had originally filed last year; and Prometheus Laboratories Inc., a diagnostic and specialty pharma maker that has remained on file since the last window. (See BioWorldToday, Sep. 17, 2009, and Oct. 30, 2009.) But whether the filings translate into actual pricings likely will depend on the reception received by the first few biotech IPOs out the window. Specialty pharma Cumberland Pharmaceuticals Inc., first out the gate, has had trouble in the aftermarket, and while second-to-market Talecris Biotherapeutics Inc. has held up better, neither of the profitable companies are viewed as a particularly accurate model of investor interest in biotech. Meanwhile, biotechs are hoping that Omeros Corp., third to price in this window, isn't an accurate model either. The Phase III developer of generic combo drugs for surgical applications priced at the low end of its target range and has since slid to become one of the worst aftermarket performers in the last 12 months. (See BioWorld Today, Oct. 9, 2009.) In other financing news: â?¢ Tethys Bioscience Inc., of Emeryville, Calif., raised $25 million in a Series D round led by aeris CAPITAL AG. The round also included new investor Wasatch Advisors and existing investors MDV-Mohr Davidow Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers and Intel Capital. Proceeds will support commercialization of Tethys' PreDx diabetes risk diagnostic. therapeuticsdaily.com