By Donald Zuhn —

On March 21, 2007, Aegerion Pharmaceuticals Inc. filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a proposed initial public offering of its common stock.  According to a Reuters report, while neither the number of shares in the offering nor the offering price have been determined, Aegerion is seeking to raise $86.25 million in the IPO.  Aegerion’s shares will be listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol "AEGR."  According to a TradingMarkets.com article, Aegerion posted losses of $1.4 million in 2005 – its first year of operation – and $6.2 million in 2006.

Aegerion Pharmaceuticals is a Bridgewater, New Jersey-based biopharmaceutical company focusing on the development of small-molecule therapeutics to treat cardiovascular and metabolic disease, and in particular, on inhibitors of microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (MTP).

On Monday, Merrion Pharmaceuticals Ltd. announced that it filed a registration statement with the SEC for a proposed initial public offering of its ordinary shares in the form of American Depositary Shares and ordinary shares.  The Dublin-based pharmaceutical company has applied to list its American Depositary Shares on the Nasdaq Global Market and its ordinary shares on the Irish Enterprise Exchange in Dublin, Ireland.  According to a Forbes.com article, Merrion is seeking to list both its American Depositary Shares and ordinary shares under the symbol "MERR."  According to a Reuters
report, Merrion is looking to raise $46 million in the IPO.

Merrion Pharmaceuticals, established in 2004, develops oral therapeutics that can replace injectable drugs.  Merrion’s primary focus is on its Gastrointestinal Permeation Enhancement Technology (GIPET) for oral delivery of poorly permeable drugs, and Gastrointestinal Retention System (GIRES) for the delivery of drugs having short half-lives and requiring extended local delivery to the gastrointestinal tract.  The company’s patent portfolio includes two U.S. patents and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0191239.