Hoping for a listing on Nasdaq and a boost to its balance sheet, Elixir Pharmaceuticals Inc. filed for a proposed $86 million initial public offering, though the firm has not yet determined the price or the number of shares to be offered.

Cambridge, Mass.-based Elixir, which develops drugs for metabolic diseases, such as diabetes and obesity, said in its prospectus that proceeds from the offering would fund ongoing development and precommercialization activities of two pivotal-stage programs: Glinsuna and Metgluna, both of which are in pivotal trials in Type II diabetes patients. Elixir anticipates allotting between $10 million and $12 million in proceeds for those products.

Glinsuna (mitiglinide) is a short-acting insulin secretagogue that's already marketed in Japan by Tokyo-based Kissei Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. for treating diabetes. Elixir licensed North American and Latin American rights to the compound from Kissei, and began Phase III testing last month. Meanwhile, Metgluna, a fixed-dose combination of mitiglinide plus the widely prescribed diabetic drug metformin, also is in Phase III trials. New drug applications for both products are anticipated in 2009. (See BioWorld Today, Aug. 21, 2007.)

Beyond its late-stage diabetes products, Elixir is developing a ghrelin antagonist program and is preparing to enter the clinic in late 2008 with a lead compound initially targeting Type II diabetes, with additional compounds and indications to follow. The company also is working on a ghrelin agonist program, aimed at opioid-induced bowel dysfunction and cancer cachexia, which is expected to move toward the clinic next year. Another early stage endeavor is focused on the use of sirtuins to target diseases associated with aging and metabolism. All those programs also are expected to pick up funding through the proposed IPO, with remaining funds going toward general corporate purposes, such as administrative expenses, working capital, intellectual property maintenance and potential acquisitions of complementary technologies, products or businesses.

Elixir, which posted a net loss of about $9 million for the first six months of 2007, had about $22.6 million in cash, cash equivalents and working capital as of June 30. To date, most of its funding has come from venture capital investments. MPM Funds is its largest shareholder, holding 29.4 percent of the company, or 43.7 million shares, prior to the proposed IPO. Other major shareholders include ARCH Funds, which holds 23.9 million shares, or 16.4 percent of the company; MunMun International Ltd., with 19.4 million shares, or 13.4 percent; and Oxford Funds, with 15.1 million shares, or 10.4 percent.

As of Sept. 15, the company had a total of 143.5 million shares outstanding.

Credit Suisse Securities LLC, of New York, will act as sole bookrunner, with San Francisco-based Pacific Growth Equities LLC and Boston-based Leerink Swann LLC serving as co-managers.

Upon successful completion of the IPO, Elixir's shares would trade on Nasdaq under the ticker "ELXR."

In other financings news:

• Barrier Therapeutics Inc., of Princeton, N.J., is raising about $31.9 million in a registered direct offering. The company agreed to sell about 5.5 million shares priced at $5.75 each to a group of institutional investors. Barrier, which focuses its efforts in dermatology, has several product candidates in various stages of clinical development for indications such as onychomycosis, psoriasis, acne, skin allergies and acute fungal infections. The offering is expected to close on or about Sept. 26, 2007. J.P. Morgan Securities Inc., acted as the exclusive placement agent and Pacific Growth Equities LLC served as financial advisor. Shares of Barrier (NASDAQ:BTRX) closed at $6.13 Monday, down 31 cents.

• Bionovo Inc., of Emeryville, Calif., filed a preliminary prospectus supplement to its existing shelf registration statement for a proposed public offering of 11.4 million shares. Price will be determined by market conditions at the time of the offering. Bionovo expects to grant underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 1.7 million shares to cover any overallotments. BMO Capital Markets Corp. and Canaccord Adams Inc. are acting as joint book-running managers, with Merriman Curhan Ford & Co. serving as co-manager. Shares of Bionovo (NASDAQ:BNVI) closed Monday at $3.99, up 4 cents.

• GenomeQuest Inc., of Westborough, Mass., secured an additional $4 million in venture funding to expand its organization to support demand for its GenomeQuest platform. Mosaix Ventures, of Chicago, led the Series B round, with participation from existing investors Cross Atlantic Partners, Milestone Venture Partners and Societe Generale Asset Management Alternative Investments. GenomeQuest previously raised $4.1 million in a November 2005 Series A round. The latest cash infusion will allow the company to enhance its technology by introducing product features tailored to the enterprise research market. The GenomeQuest platform is a genomic search platform that aggregates genetic sequence data and provides search analytics for research information and simultaneous exploration of the intellectual property landscape.

• Medicure Inc., of Winnipeg, Manitoba, closed its financing agreement with Elliott Associates LP, raising proceeds of $25 million to fund ongoing research and development of MC-1 and sales and marketing efforts for Aggrastat. Under the terms, Elliott affiliate Birmingham Associates Ltd. will provide the company with an up-front cash payment of $25 million in exchange for an escalating minimum annual return starting at $2.5 million based on Aggrastat revenue or, upon approval, MC-1 revenue. Medicure also amended the terms of its existing $13.9 million term loan facility to defer monthly principal payments for a minimum of one year from the date of the final agreement. The Elliott financing should ensure the company has sufficient capital to complete its ongoing Phase III MEND-CABG II study of MC-1 in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Leerink Swann served as lead advisor to Medicure for the transaction. Shares of Medicure (AMEX:MCU) gained 3 cents Monday to close at $1.14.

• Savient Pharmaceuticals Inc., of East Brunswick, N.J., filed a universal shelf registration statement that would allow the company, from time to time, to sell up to $200 million in common stock, debt securities, preferred stock or warrants. Specific terms will be established at the time of any offering. Savient expects to use net proceeds from any sale for general corporate purposes, including research and development expenses, costs related to clinical trials and supply of its products, general and administrative expenses and for potential product licensing or acquisition deals. Savient's stock (NASDAQ:SVNT) closed at $14.95 Monday, up 86 cents.