Kythera Biopharmaceuticals raises $70.4M in IPO

Kythera Biopharmaceuticals Inc. has raised about $70.4 million in its initial public offering of 4.4 million shares.

The Calabasas, Calif., company, which is developing an injectable treatment for double chins, priced its IPO at $16 per share, or the top end of its estimated range. Shares of the stock are expected to start trading Thursday on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol "KYTH."

Counting expenses, Kythera expects net proceeds of about $62.8 million, or $72.6 million if underwriters exercise an option to buy additional shares to meet demand. Kythera plans to use nearly all proceeds to pay for late-stage clinical studies of its double-chin treatment, which is labeled ATX-101.

The company, which has no products on the market, said ATX-101 involves a synthetic formulation of a component of human bile that breaks down fat. The company's development partner, Bayer Consumer Care AG, has conducted late-stage research on the injectable in Europe, and the companies expect to submit the drug for approval there next year.

Kythera also expects to report initial results from late-stage research in the United States and Canada by the middle of next year.

The drug developer reported a net loss of $11.1 million last year and $2.4 million through the first six months of 2012.