Proteon joins long IPO line with $69M offering

Another day, another biotech IPO. Waltham, MA-based Proteon Therapeutics has joined the queue of biotechs looking to make the leap into Nasdaq, looking to raise some $69 million. Proteon closed on $25 million in financing last May, the first tranche in a $45 million round involving Abingworth, Deerfield and Pharmstandard. The key effort at Proteon now is focused on the late-stage program for PRT-201, a synthetic enzyme that can help dilate arteries and veins. The biotech is developing it as a complementary therapy for patients who undergo vascular access surgery. In order to make hemodialysis easier, surgeons often create a vein-to-artery pathway called an arteriovenous fistula (AVF), and PRT-201 is designed to keep vessels open and blood flowing. S-1