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[badknees29]

EnteroMedics IPO prices at low end of range; makes medical device to treat obesity (8.00 ) EnteroMedics (ETRM) prices its IPO at $8, at the low end of its expected $8-9 range, which had been slashed from $14-16. EnteroMedics is a development stage medical device company focused on devices that use neuroblocking technology to treat obesity. The co's poroprietary neuroblocking technology, which it calls VBLOC therapy, is designed to intermittently block the vagus nerve using high-frequency, low-energy, electrical impulses. The vagus nerve controls much of the activity of the stomach, intestines and pancreas and plays a role in food processing. Its initial product under development is the Maestro System, which uses VBLOC therapy to limit the expansion of the stomach, reduce stomach contractions and produce a feeling of early and prolonged fullness. The co believes the Maestro System may offer obese patients a minimally-invasive treatment alternative. ETRM is currently evaluating the Maestro System in human clinical trials in Australia, Mexico, Norway and Switzerland. The co has implanted the Maestro System in 76 subjects and has one-year clinical data on 11 subjects. The co recently received an investigational device exemption, or IDE, for its US pivotal trial. In Q3 2007, the co began to enroll and implant subjects. The co expects a premarket approval, or PMA, application to be submitted by mid-2009. If the FDA grants approval, ETRM expects to launch the Maestro System in the US in 2010. The co has no revenue at this point.... Briefing Note: This one priced poorly as it's still in the early stages of getting FDA approval, unlike some other recent medical device IPO's. This is a 5 mln share deal led by JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley