Development stage bio-pharmaceutical company Hyperion Therapeutics said Friday it expects to price its initial public offering of about 4.16 million common shares in a range of $11 to $13 per share.
At the high end of the range, the proposed maximum aggregate offering price will be about $62.3 million.
Hyperion has granted the underwriters an option to purchase up to 625,000 additional shares of common stock, to cover over-allotments.
The company said some of its existing stockholders have shown an interest in purchasing an aggregate of about $22.0 million of common shares in the offering at the IPO price.
Hyperion has applied to to list its common stock on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol "HPTX."
The company said it expects to use the net proceeds from the offering to fund clinical development, regulatory approval, post-marketing studies, and general corporate purposes.
Following the IPO, the company will have a total of 14.5 million common shares outstanding, giving it a market valuation of about $188.5 million, based on a share price of $13 apiece - the high end of the range.
California-baesd Hyperion is engaged in the development of novel therapeutics to treat disorders in the areas of orphan diseases and hepatology. Its lead drug candidate is Ravicti indicated to treat the most prevalent urea cycle disorders (UCD), and hepatic encephalopathy (HE).
The company last December submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) for Ravicti for the chronic management of UCD in patients aged 6 years and above. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is set to decide on Ravicti NDA by October 23 this year.
UCD are rare genetic diseases caused by a deficiency of one or more enzymes or protein transporters that constitute the urea cycle, which removes ammonia through the conversion of ammonia to urea.
Currently, the only branded FDA-approved therapy for management of the most prevalent UCD is Buphenyl, currently commercialized by Ucyclyd - an unit of Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. (MRX). Ravicti uses the same vehicle for ammonia removal as Buphenyl but requires a much smaller volume of drug.
In March, upon a deal with Ucyclyd, Hyperion bought all of the worldwide rights to Ravicti for an upfront payment of $6 million, future payments based upon meeting of regulatory milestones in indications other than UCD, sales milestones, and mid to high single digit royalties on global net sales of Ravicti.
Hyperion also has an option to purchase all of Ucyclyd's worldwide rights in Buphenyl and Ammonul injection 10%/10%, the only adjunctive FDA-approved therapy to treat hyperammonemic crises in patients with the most prevalent UCD.
For the fiscal year 2011, Hyperion reported a net loss of $29.4 million, compared to a loss of $25.4 million in the prior year, reflecting its spend on research and general overheads. The company did not generate any revenues for the comparable periods.
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by RTT Staff Writer
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