SiliconBeat

Fluidigm, the South San Francisco biotech company that registered its initial public offering with the SEC back in April, is set to push it out to investors next week, according to Renaissance Capital. At least its investment banker underwriting the offering, Morgan Stanley, is still standing.

The company, which supplies what it calls integrated fluidic circuits — nanoscale devices that enable its life science customers to perform thousands of sophisticated biochemical measurements on samples smaller than the content of a single cell — is offering 5.3 million shares to the public for the first time. It has set a price range for the offering of $14 to $16 a share.

The company has accumulated $149.1 million in losses since its founding in 1999. In June, Applied Biosystems sent Fluidigm a letter claiming patent infringement. Fluidigm filed suit against Applied Biosystems seeking to invalidate the patent in question. A response from Applied Biosystems is due before the end of the month.

Of course, Applied Biosystems recently said it expects to be acquired by Invitrogen, a development that may draw out the claim on the patent, which expires in 2011.

Fluidigm’s chief executive, Gajus Worthington, previously worked with Actel, the Mountain View maker of programmable semiconductors.

Among Fluidigm’s largest shareholders are the Singapore government, which will own 10.4 percent of shares outstanding after the offering, and Fidelity, which will own a 7.2 percent stake. Lehman Brothers, the investment bank that filed for bankruptcy earlier this week, will hold a 4.3 percent stake.