| Almost any biotech IPO was a huge success back in | | | | investors Sears Capital Management and SIM Eq. |
| the 2001-2006 years. Since the start of the current | | | | They are holding great hopes on the success of the |
| downturn in the stock prices and stock indexes for | | | | biotech IPO. |
| about two years we have not seen any single | | | | Jim Healy of Soffinova Venture Partners says the |
| successful biotech IPO. The credit crunch adversely | | | | company is a promising one with its product line and |
| affected the Biotech industry. | | | | a superb management team. It is believed that with |
| Almost all of the companies which operate in the | | | | the proper marketing the biotech IPO should be a |
| biotech sector do depend strongly on outside | | | | win-win situation for both biotech and the investors. |
| financing. They hardly generate any income during the | | | | Rachel Leheny, Ph.D., Managing Director of Caxton |
| times they research their pharmaceuticals or other | | | | Advantage Venture Partners sees the company as a |
| biotech products. During a time where the stock | | | | very exciting one and believes the company's lead |
| exchanges experienced fresh money where many | | | | candidate for drug, Varespladib, is a potential |
| reaped the benefits not one of the biotech | | | | breakthrough in the treatment of persons who are in |
| companies ever tried to launch a biotech IPO. | | | | risk of cardiovascular disease. With information such |
| In the last year the conditions changed a bit and | | | | as this it gives the biotech IPO and push in the right |
| investors started to act more boldly in their decisions. | | | | direction. |
| Since the first half of 2009 several biotech companies | | | | The entrance of such private capitals may be seen |
| like Seattle Genetics, Inspire Pharmaceuticals, | | | | as an indication that the company has passed the |
| Cumberland Pharma and others, successfully got their | | | | biggest part of its research path and is able to gain |
| money from the public investors on the stock | | | | the trust of professionals. |
| exchanges. | | | | But the private investors usually can wait longer than |
| It is no surprise then to see Anthera also filed their | | | | the public ones. So when deciding to enter or not in |
| plans for a fresh biotech IPO in which the company | | | | this biotech IPO one should not forget that Anthera's |
| hopes to sell $70 million in shares. The biotech IPO will | | | | research work is not over and there might be more |
| be a test for the market to see if the players are | | | | time to come before the company is able to release |
| willing to give their money to a classical development | | | | any practical and usable medicine. |
| company that has generated no returns since the | | | | It is a fact that biotech industry has recently shown |
| day it was started. | | | | some signs of movement and rebound but the |
| Anthera has only 16 employees and has recently | | | | investors are still cautious. Still if this happens to be a |
| successfully finished a round for private investing. In | | | | successful biotech IPO it could help to whet |
| this round it managed to collect more than $45 million | | | | investors' appetite for biotech IPOs and their faith in |
| in private venture capital. VantagePoint Venture | | | | the industry as a whole. Such a success could also |
| Partners and Sofinnova Venture Partners joined the | | | | indicate that investors are indeed willing to take more |
| other investors in the company in the face of Pappas | | | | long-term risk and could be a sign. This would indeed |
| Ventures, Mitsubishi International Corporation, Caxton | | | | go a long way in lifting some heavy financial burdens |
| Advantage Venture Partners, along with Series A-1 | | | | for Anthera as well as other research Companies. |