Pharmasset, a little drugmaker based in Princeton, NJ, raised $45 million through an initial public offering that priced at the low end of its estimated range.

The company sold 5 million shares at $9 apiece late Thursday. Pharmasset had previously hoped to sell 6 million shares but cut the size of the offering earlier this week. The IPO price was also disappointing: the company trimmed the estimated range to between $9 and $11 a share, from its prior estimate of $12 to $14 a share.

Investors weren’t impressed, Shares, which started trading under the ticker “VRUS,” were little changed in their debut. The stock rose as much as 4.6% to $9.42 and was up less than 1% intraday.

Pharmasset is developing three oral medications to treat viral infections, particularly hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV. The firm is scheduled to begin phase 3 clinical trials for Clevudine, a drug for hepatitis B, starting in the second quarter. The firm is in clinical trials for its HIV drug Racivir and under an alliance with Hoffman LaRoche Ltd, the firm is in clinical trials for R7128, a drug for hepatitis C.

Source: New York Business[tags]Pharmasset[/tags]