BG Medicine Stock Debuts At $7 Apiece; Shares Rise

NEW YORK (AP) - Shares of BG Medicine Inc. rose sharply in their debut Friday, after the life sciences company increased the size of its initial public offering.

The stock gained 75 cents, or 10.7 percent, to $7.75 under the symbol "BGMD."

The Waltham, Mass., company offered 5 million shares at $7 apiece, up slightly from the 4.8 million it had previously expected to sell, which suggests $35 million in proceeds before expenses and discounts. The underwriters of the IPO will have the option to buy another 750,000 shares to cover excess demand.

BG Medicine's main product, BGM Galectin-3, is a test for a protein involved in heart failure. The manual version of its test was approved by U.S. regulators in October. However, the company said automated versions are necessary for the test to gain broader acceptance. BG Medicine has entered partnerships with Abbott Laboratories, Siemens AG, Alere, and bioMérieux, and it expects at least one of those partners to file for marketing approval of an automated version later this year.

Marketing approval for the automated version could come in 2012.

BG Medicine said it will use the proceeds from its IPO to fund the launch of the BGM Galectin-3 test and develop other product candidates.