Complete Genomics Inc. yesterday filed for an initial public offering that could be worth up to $96.6 million, and if the popularity of a competing genome sequencing company’s stock is an indicator for its success, Complete Genomics won’t have much trouble hitting its mark.
Pacific Biosciences of California Inc. (NSDQ:PACB) entered the market today and raised $200 million in its IPO. The company is working on a whole-genome sequencing device that would deliver "real-time" observation of DNA-related processes.
The $16-per-share offering brings the total amount of money it’s raised since the Menlo Park, Calif.-based genomics firm‘s 2004 founding to $570 million, according to FierceBiotech.
In its IPO, Complete Genomics plans to offer 6 million shares at a range of $12 to $14 per share, according to a federal Securities & Exchange Commission filing.
The Mountain View, Calif.-based company is slated to set the actual IPO price the week of Nov. 8, according to Renaissance Capital, and requested the ticker symbol GNOM. The company was founded in 2005 and reported $2 million in revenue for the 12 months ending June 30. It’s working on another genome sequencing and analysis platform.
The genome sequencing market is expected to grow from $1.2 billion in 2009 to more than $3.6 billion by 2014, according to Scientia Advisors, which Pacific Biosciences cited in its IPO filing.
Healthcare IT, in addition to the pharmaceutical industry, are already heading in the direction of biomarker-based medicine, Scientia Advisors managing partner Harry Glorikian told MassDevice at Harvard Medical School’s World Health Forum in Boston in October. If a patient has positive or negative results for a particular test, there are already alarms built into healthcare IT applications that warn doctors about how certain treatments could affect the patient, said Glorikian.
“If that’s not directing the practice of medicine, I don’t know what is,” he said. “It’s supposed to be a guideline. It’s not etched in stone, but if you do something that it says you shouldn’t, ‘What was you medical rational for doing that?'” he asked.
The race to bring the cost of complete genome sequencing down has grown more and more competitive over the last couple months. Earlier this week, Helicos Biosciences Corp. (NSDQ:HLCS) amended its genome sequencing technology patent infringement lawsuit against Pacific Biosciences to include Life Technologies Corp. (NSDQ:LIFE) and Illumina Inc. (NSDQ:ILMN), two other companies trying to position themselves for the predicted exponential growth of DNA sequencing industry.
PACB shares were trading at $16.57 in midday activity.
