IPO Filing From KYTHERA: Fighting The Double Chin

KYTHERA Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. has just joined in with the companies which have filed to come public via an initial public offering.  The common stock plans to be listed on The NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol “KYTH.”  No financial terms were set other than that the company would raise up to $86,250,000 in this sale.

Here is how the company describes itself: We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel prescription products for the aesthetic medicine market. Our objective is to develop first-in-class, prescription products using an approach that relies on the scientific rigor of biotechnology to address unmet needs in the rapidly-growing market for aesthetic medicine. Our initial focus is on the facial aesthetics market, which comprises the majority of the aesthetic medicine market. Our product candidate, ATX-101, is a potential first-in-class, injectable drug currently in Phase III clinical development for the reduction of submental fat, which commonly presents as an undesirable “double chin.”

KYTHERA notes that ATX-101 is a proprietary synthetic formulation of sodium deoxycholate, a well-characterized component of human bile that is naturally occurring in the body and promotes the breakdown of dietary fat.

The company is collaborating with Bayer outside the United States and Canada, and Bayer recently completed two pivotal Phase III trials with positive topline results.  KYTHERA initiated a Phase III clinical program with a planned enrollment of 1,000 patients in the United States and Canada in March 2012 and it expects to report results from these trials in 2013.

J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs are listed as the bookrunners, with other firms in the syndicate listed as Leerink Swann and Lazard Capital Markets.

FULL S-1 FILING

JON C. OGG