Merrimack Pharma discounts expectations in $100M IPO

Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, a Cambridge, MA-based developer with 5 cancer therapies in the pipeline, is hoping that it can finally pull off an IPO after significantly reducing the amount of money it hopes to raise while cutting the proposed share price. Merrimack earlier pulled the plug on its $166 million IPO, which had sought investors willing to pay $8 to $10 a share. Now it's looking for $100 million by selling 14.3 million shares at $7 each, Renaissance Capital reports. The effort values the company at $647 million. Biotech IPOs have been tough to pull off ever since the 2008 financial crisis. But a growing number of hardy companies have pushed ahead in any case, often suffering from a common need to cut their prices and accept less than hoped for. A few IPOs have been successful, though, largely due to the active support of a loyal group of financial backers. We recognized Merrimack as a Fierce 15 company last year. Story