The number of venture-backed life sciences companies unwilling to take the plunge into the frigid IPO waters grew on Monday, as both Asthmatx Inc. and BioVex opted to postpone their offerings. Cancer treatment biotech company BioVex cited unfavorable market conditions; while Asthema medical device maker Asthmatx said it was withdrawing its IPO in favor of an alternative strategic option.
While their have been some real home runs recently by IT offering such as DivX Inc., CommVault Inc. and Riverbed Technology Inc., life sciences IPOs have been a hard slog. The few to make it out the IPO door this fall - Ivivi Technologies Trubion Pharmaceuticals Inc. and LeMaitre Vascular - all had lackluster debuts as Trubion and Ivivi have traded relatively flat, and LeMaitre is currently below its offering price.
Nevertheless, life sciences companies have continued to line up at the IPO door in the hope that some holiday cheer will soften things up, as three more life sciences companies - Cadence Pharmaceuticals, Achillion Pharmaceuticals, and Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners - are all slated to price this week according to Renaissance Capital LLC's IPOHome.com. — George White
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