Endocyte - Biotech IPOs of 2011

Company: Endocyte ($ECYT)
Based: Indianapolis
Raised: $75M (12.5M shares at $6)
Target range: $13 to $15
Current price: $3.59 

Scoop: Endocyte is the kind of IPO that's a tough sell to investors. The developer, which was founded in 1996, has no marketed products but boasts a pipeline of cancer and inflammatory disease drug candidates with companion diagnostics. Six of the company's programs are in human trials.

Endocyte first announced its intentions to go public in August 2010, but it took 6 months--and a heavy discount--to reach the markets. The Indianapolis-based developer debuted at just $6 per share, far below the low end of its targeted $13 to $15 range.

Endocyte's lead drug is EC145. It targets a receptor that's often overexpressed in many solid tumors, including ovarian, non-small cell lung, breast, colorectal, kidney, endometrial and other cancers, according to the company. A companion imaging agent is used to identify which patients will benefit the most from treatment with EC145. Not long after its February debut, the company's shares spiked on positive Phase II data for its ovarian cancer drug and news that it would file for accelerated approval in Europe. 

Things were looking good for Endocyte until the company announced in December that overall survival results from a Phase II trial of EC145 for ovarian cancer were inconclusive. The company's stock dropped 60%, and continues to hover around the $3.50 mark.