Public at last

diaDexus Inc. was founded in 1997 as a 50-50 joint venture between SmithKline Beecham and Incyte Pharmaceuticals Inc. (now Incyte Corp. (NASDAQ:INCY)) to commercialize molecular diagnostics. It's one of the first companies formed with the goal of bringing the stodgy diagnostics business into the genomics era.

The company raised $127.5 million in venture funding before the bubble burst - including a $102.5 million round that at the time was the largest biotech venture financing ever. But it missed the IPO window, pulling its offering in late 2002...