Omeros plans $115 million IPO

Seattle-based biopharmaceutical company Omeros has filed for an initial public offering of stock, aiming to raise as much as $115 million.

It is the first new IPO filing from a local company this year, and follows a rocky 2007 during which more initial offerings were withdrawn than were completed.

The company, founded in 1994, has no product revenue and no products approved for marketing.

It is developing compounds for inflammation and disorders of the central nervous system, specifically low-dosage proprietary combinations of therapeutic drugs that are delivered during surgery.

Its most advanced product candidates are targeted at arthroscopic, ophthalmological and urological surgery.

Proceeds of the IPO would be used, in part, to complete Phase 3 clinical trials of its leading candidate.

Omeros has spent $72 million since its inception, and had $27 million in available cash as of Sept. 30, according to the company's preliminary filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company did not give an estimated price or number of shares for its proposed offering, which is being underwritten by Deutsche Bank Securities, Pacific Growth Equities, Leerink Swann and Needham & Company.