The Seattle area has been absolutely salivating for some public offerings. So, the news Thursday that Ikaria had filed to raise up to $200 million in an IPO had to be a little bittersweet. After all, it was three years ago that Ikaria merged with INO Therapeutics in a complex deal valued at $628 million which resulted in the company's headquarters moving to New Jersey.

Ikaria was started in Seattle in 2006 by Mark Roth, a researcher at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center who discovered a novel way to induce a state of hibernation in patients which in turn could assist in organ transplants and trauma. Seattle's Robert Nelsen of Arch Venture Partners backed the startup, and the venture capital firm still maintains a 10 percent stake in the company.

Ikaria still maintains a research facility in Seattle, but it is a small one at just 8,000 square feet. That compares to the firm's 60,000 square foot headquarters in Clinton, New Jersey, not to mention an additional 14,600 square foot location in nearby Hampton, New Jersey. The company's S-1 filing indicates that it is looking to find new office space in central New Jersey in an effort to "support our growth for the next 10 years."

Ikaria currently employs 463 full-time workers. The company's two largest shareholders also are located on the East Coast, with New Mountain Entities of New York holding a 50.98 percent stake and Linde of Murray Hill, New Jersey holding 17 percent of the company.

Bob Nelsen

Ikaria also is unique from a biotech perspective since it is already showing significant revenue and profits. The company listed net income of $12.9 million on revenue of $274 million last year. The bulk of the company's sales come from INOtherapy, a 10-year-old product which is the only FDA-approved treatment from pulmonary hypertension in infants.

The company also has research projects going on in areas related to renal failure, acute myocardial infarction and other conditions.

"We have a diversified and promising pipeline of product candidates, including two late-stage product candidates and a number in earlier clinical or preclinical development," the company writes in its IPO filing. "We believe several of our product candidates target potentially large market opportunities."

The company is planning to trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker IKAR.