TetraPhase Pharmaceuticals Files for a $86 Million IPO

Antibiotics developer Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals Inc. has filed regulatory documents announcing its intentions to launch an initial public offering. Tetraphase has applied to list its common stock on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the symbol “TTPH.” The Cambridge, Mass.-based, privately-held biotechnology company launched in 2006, and has until now received all of its revenue from three government contracts. The largest contract, worth up to $67 million, is from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This grant is for the development of the company’s lead antibiotic candidate, eravacycline, as a potential treatment for disease caused by bacterial biothreat pathogens. The company has also been awarded two grants from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, for the development of an earlier-stage antibiotic, worth a total of $38.6 million. The company disclosed in its registration statement to go public that it has recorded a net loss of $87 million from inception in July of 2006, through Sept. 30, 2012.