AcelRx, a biotech developing a treatment for acute post-operative pain, raised $40 million by offering 8 million shares at $5 per share. Redwood, CA based company, which expects to initiate Phase 3 trials of its lead drug candidate in the second half of 2011, originally planned to sell 5.8 million shares at a range of $12-$14. Piper Jaffray was the lead manager on the deal. Canaccord Genuity, Cowen & Company and JMP Securities acted as co-managers. Shares are expected to open for trading on Friday on the Nasdaq under the symbol "ACRX". AcelRx is the third biotech to go public so far in 2011, following recent IPOs from Pacira Pharmaceuticals (PCRX) and Endocyte (ECYT). There have now been 9 healthcare-related IPOs so far in 2011, representing almost 40% of all IPO activity year-to-date.
