Esperion files for IPO

Esperion Therapeutics Inc. (Plymouth, Mich.) filed to raise up to $70 million in an IPO underwritten by Credit Suisse; Citigroup; JMP Securities; and Nicolaus Weisel. Esperion's ETC-1002 is in two Phase IIa trials to treat hypercholesterolemia. Data from the first trial in statin intolerant patients are expected in June, while data from the second trial in statin resistant or refractory patients are expected in September. ETC-1002 is an AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activator and ATP citrate lyase (ACL) inhibitor (see BioCentury, April 16, 2012). ...