New slate of biotech IPOs could test investors' appetite for fresh offerings

A slate of four biotechs has lined up in the jump zone for IPOs this week. And analysts will be watching closely to see if a series of recent stumbles out of the gate are the result of individual problems or an example of a growing lack of the kind of ravenous appetite that drove a 6-month feast of offerings.

At the top of the group is Ophthotech ($OPHT), which is looking to raise $100 million for new drugs to treat eye diseases. The biotech is planning to use the cash to fund a Phase III study of a new therapy for wet age-related macular degeneration. In a mid-stage study its therapy combined with Lucentis worked better than Lucentis alone.

The lineup also includes Foundation Medicine, which is working in cancer diagnostics, Evoke Pharma, laboring on gastrointestinal diseases, and Fate Therapeutics, held over from last week.

At the end of last week Bind Therapeutics ($BIND) raised $70 million after pricing its shares in the range. But the stock price quickly dropped. Five Prime also priced in the range last week, and saw its stock price hover a bit over the $13 starting point. Last month Regado got off to a bad start after being forced to sell shares at only $4, leaving the company short of its goal for raising sufficient funds to cover a very expensive late-stage study.

Overall, this year has seen an explosion of biotech IPOs after years of being shut out of the market. The question now is whether investors' appetites have been satisfied, or whether new offerings can continue to soar higher after companies make their way to the public market. 

- here's the list from Renaissance Capital

Special Report: No end of biotech IPO frenzy in sight