Inogen unleashes IPO plans, a rare move for device companies in 2013

The Inogen One portable oxygen device for patients with chronic respiratory conditions--Courtesy of Inogen

Inogen has unveiled plans for an IPO worth as much as $86.2 million, becoming one of the few medical device companies to make such a move this year.

The California maker of the Inogen One portable oxygen device for patients with chronic respiratory conditions filed preliminary regulatory paperwork before the Thanksgiving holiday. Inogen wants to use IPO funding to boost sales and marketing, pump up research and development, pursue potential M&A deals and execute internal expansion plans. Plans call for listing the company's common stock on Nasdaq and trading under the symbol "INGN."

Inogen's IPO filing is one of a tiny number that have cropped up from medical device companies in 2013. Tandem Diabetes Care ($TNDM) brought in more than $120 million earlier in November with its IPO, drawing plenty of investors interested in its next-generation insulin pump. Cervical disc implant maker LDR ($LDRH) raised an overalloted $75 million in its IPO earlier this fall. But that's basically it in terms of pure-play medical device companies hitting the public markets so far in 2013.

Inogen said it booked more than $48.5 million in revenue in 2012, up from $30.6 million in 2011. Total revenue for the first 9 months of 2013 surpassed $55.6 million, according to Inogen's S-1 filing. The company is also on the cusp of becoming profitable. In 2012, net income hit about $564,000, a vast jump from a $2 million loss in 2011. For the first 9 months of 2013, net income is at more than $3.4 million, well into the black.

The company estimates the U.S. oxygen therapy market is worth $4 billion, with anticipated growth of 7% to 10% annually.

- read the S-1 filing
- here's the company's announcement