Get the latest news alerts: at Twitter.

AP, LTW

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — Shares of drug developer Anthera Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: ANTH) ended their first week gith where they started – at $7 a share.

The California firm is backed by Durham-based

went public on March 1 at $7 a share after slashing its IPO price to $7 from between $13-15 a share. It also increased the number of shares offered to 6 million from 4.6 million.

The Hayward, Calif., biotechnology company, which failed to make it to market last week, raised some $42 million. Its initial target was $64.4 million.

Share traded as high as $7.39 and as low as $6.90 during the week.

Anthera does not have any treatments approved by regulators and has no revenue. It does not expect its leading candidate to be ready for sale until 2012, at the earliest.

One of the biggest problems for the IPO market so far this year is that offering prices have been inflated by competition between investment bankers, said Francis Gaskins, president of IPOdesktop. Investors’ reception of Anthera proves that there is still an appetite for IPOs, he said.

"This is just confirmation that there is an IPO market, but companies need to be aware of investor climate and price accordingly," Gaskins said.