Kythera Biopharmaceuticals has filed to raise up to $86.3 million in an initial public offering to support a late-stage trial of ATX-101, its therapy to reduce unwanted fat under the chin.

The Calabasas, California company is believed to be the first in the life sciences sector to take advantage of new provisions in the recently approved Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, or JOBS Act, designed to make it easier and more inviting for emerging growth companies to go public.

The act exempts “emerging growth companies”—those with less than $1 billion in annual revenues at the time they register with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and less than $700 million in publicly-traded shares after their IPO—from complying with certain costly provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for five years post-IPO.

According to Renaissance Capital’s IPO Home, the first company taking advantage of the JOBS Act to file was LegalZoom, which filed its offering on May 11.

In its registration statement, Kythera cautions that some investors may find its common stock less attractive as a result of the reduced disclosure and governance requirements applicable to emerging growth companies, potentially leading to a less active trading market for its shares and a more volatile share price.

But the company hopes to gain a share of the estimated $1.7 billion Americans spent on facial injectable procedures in 2011, which includes payments for botulinum toxins and dermal fillers.

The company plans to offer its shares on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol "KYTH."

In August 2010, Kythera signed a licensing and collaboration development agreement with Bayer, granting the company development and commercialization rights to ATX-101 outside of the United States and Canada. Kythera and Bayer are collaborating on the development of ATX-101 in Europe.