Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. on Friday completed its first dayof stock trading, closing nearly 50 percent above its initialpublic offering price.

The stock (NASDAQ:AMLN) closed at $20.75, down 50 cents.

The San Diego company's IPO raised $56 million through thesale of 4 million shares of common stock priced at $14 pershare.

The offering sold 1 million shares more than proposed in thepreliminary prospectus, at significantly above the proposedprice range of $9 to $11.

"They have the most elegant explanation for the problems oftype I and type II diabetes I've heard," said MontgomerySecurities analyst Brandon Fradd. "It's still an open question ifit's all true, but they have suggestive animal data."

The company is developing therapeutics for diabetes based onthe pancreatic hormone amylin, which Amylin believes plays acentral role in the regulation of glucose metabolism.

If it works, said Fradd, it could be the most powerful treatmentfor diabetes since insulin. There are 8 million diabetics in theUnited States.

In October, Amylin and Glaxo Inc. announced a collaboration todevelop new diabetes therapies.

After the offering, Amylin has 16.8 million shares outstanding.Underwriters Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc. and Alex. Brown &Sons Inc. have a 450,000-share overallotment option.

-- Karen Bernstein BioWorld Staff

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