Biopharmaceutical company Horizon Pharma Inc. plans to sell up to an estimated $86.3 million in an initial public offering. The shares are expected to trade on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol HZNP.
Many startup drug companies have turned to IPOs as a way to raise funds to bring their products to market, but the U.S. IPO market has been rocky lately, with many companies cutting their prices and some delaying their offerings. Trius Therapeutics Inc., a company developing a drug for antibiotic-resistant bacteria, ended its first day of trading unchanged Tuesday after slashing its offering price by more than half.
Horizon focuses on drugs to treat arthritis, pain and inflammatory diseases and has two candidates that have completed several Phase III clinical trials.
The Food and Drug Administration is reviewing the company’s application for approval of HZT-501, a pill containing a combination of ibuprofen and high-dose famotidine.
Horizon’s other product, Lodotra, a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, is being sold in Europe by distribution partners and will be submitted to the FDA in the fourth quarter.
The company plans to use proceeds from the IPO to fund development and regulatory approval as well as U.S. commercialization activities for both drugs.
In the first quarter, Horizon reported a loss of $7.9 million, compared with a year-earlier loss of $4.7 million. The company did not post revenue in either period.