Just eight days ago, The Street headlined Tranzyme Pharma’s planned public stock coming out party of the “Best IPO of the Week.”

Didn’t happen.

The Durham-based company didn’t find buyers for its stock and delayed the initial public offering until today. And in order to get the deal done, Tranzyme had to slash the stock price. It’s also increasing the number of shares to be sold.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Tranzyme said it was cutting the share offering price to $4 from a hoped-for range of $11-13.

Tranzyme will trade under the symbol TZYM.

Its goal is to sell 13.5 million shares with underwriters having the option to sell another 1.48 million. Tranzyme plans to use the funds for drug development.

By cutting the price but increasing the number of shares from 5 million as planned, Tranzyme could still raise some $50 million.

According to an SEC filing, Tranzyme generated $8.5 million in revenue last year.

Tranzyme filed its IPO plans originally last November. In December, Traznyme named Eli Lilly executive John Johnson as its chairman.

Tranzyme was formed in 1993. It is going public based on momentum built largely over the past two years.

Last July, Tranzyme landed its second major partnership deal in seven months for its small molecule technology and potential drug pipeline.

The company signed a deal worth as much as $158 million with European pharmaceutical firm Norgine B.V. for development of a treatment targeting diseases of the muscles of the gastrointestinal track – called gastrointestinal dysmotility – in acute care conditions.

Tranzyme received an $8 million upfront payment as part of the deal plus as much as $150 million based on achievement of development, regulatory and commercial milestones. Tranzyme also will receive double-digit royalties on future sales.

The compound under development, called ghrelin agonist ulimorelin (TZP-101), is entering Phase III clinical trials. It is Tranzyme’s lead product.

In December 2009, Tranzyme struck a deal with Bristol-Myers Squibb potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Tranzyme has won several patents for its technology that targets internal disorders, such as gastroparesis (weak stomach) and post-operative ileus (POI), or blockage of the intestine with its own drug candidates.

Read the latest SEC filing here.

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