With $1B in VC cash, Intarcia is happy to stay out of the IPO scrum

Intarcia Therapeutics is rolling toward an FDA application with its long-acting diabetes treatment, but despite the ready availability of IPO cash for drug developers, the company is content to stay private for now. The Boston company has raised about $1 billion in venture capital over the past few years, moving ITCA 650, an implant that administers the diabetes drug exenatide, through late-stage trials without tapping the public markets. And that model is working just fine, CEO Kurt Graves told Reuters. "At some point I'm sure we will be a public company," he said, but right now staying private allows the firm to better focus on execution. Intarcia is on track to file ITCA 650 for FDA approval next year, and Graves said the company has enough cash lined up to launch the implant in 2017. Story