Anthera, When IPOs Go Awry (ANTH)

Anthera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANTH) is a very unusual Monday IPO.  The fact that it is being viewed as a dud has little to do with the day of the week.   Late last week, Anthera cut the expected price range and cut the shares offered.  The company’s pipeline is three trials and its target markets are inflammation, including cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases.  We had originally been looking for a price range of $13 to $15 per share and an IPO of around 6 million shares…. then the deal size was cut and a $8 to $9 per share range was coming.  We got an IPO of 4.6 million shares, all the way down at $7.00.

This drop is just a lack of interest.  The company is not profitable and for all practical purposes has no drugs on the market.  Deutsche Bank Securities was the book-runner, and other underwriters were Piper Jaffray, Cowen & Co., and Merriman Curhan Ford.

The company is preparing to begin a pivotal Phase 3 clinical study named VISTA-16 (Vascular Inflammation Suppression to Treat Acute Coronary Syndrome – 16 Weeks).  This is its lead product candidate, called A-002.  The product is an oral sPLA2 inhibitor, in combination with HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, or statin, therapy for short-term (16-week) treatment of patients experiencing an acute coronary syndrome.

While its R&D expenses dropped nearly two-thirds in the last two years, there is effectively no revenue.  Its loss applicable was $12.2 million in 2009.  We do not have an accurate or set time-table to see how long it will be before an actual FDA approval process will start after a new drug application is filed.

The good news is that the pricing was low enough that it did not trade as a busted deal.  Shares are actually up 3.5% at $7.25 and about 450,000 shares have traded hands since this opened for trading just over an hour ago.

Jon C. Ogg