Choppy waters

Small waves of optimism and pessimism are roiling the waters as another life science company stepped up to sell an IPO, while two NASDAQ IPOs have been put on ice, including cancer vaccine play Intracel and the metabolic company Sensus Drug Development. Clontech Laboratories, perhaps hoping to catch the same wave that provided $45 million in IPO funds earlier this month to research supplier Invitrogen (IVGN), is planning an initial offering on NASDAQ to raise up to $73.6 million. Clontech (Proposed:CLON) develops, manufactures and markets more than 1,500 products for life science research. In 1998, Clontech posted net income of $4 million ($0.34) on sales of $47.8 million. The company's sales have grown at a 33 percent compounded annual rate since 1994. Prior to the IPO, Summit Partners and affiliates own 28.3 percent of the company.

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