Norwegian drug developer PCI Biotech said it couldn’t secure the funds to bankroll a Phase II cancer trial.
The Oslo biotech put out word Thursday afternoon that it couldn’t find a “feasible way forward” in funding a Phase II trial in head and neck cancer. That means the company won’t run the study of the cancer vaccine, dubbed fimaVacc, and an undisclosed portion of the clinical team will be laid off before year’s end.
The company said its cash balance of 76 million Norwegian Krone (about $7.8 million) can keep the lights on “towards the end of 2023.”
More details will be released during the Q2 reporting on Aug. 31, the biotech said. The company previously stopped another clinical trial at the beginning of the year. — Kyle LaHucik
Unity shaves off half of its original offering
As Unity Biotechnology has been finding itself with limited cash, the company has had to temper its expectations.
In an SEC filing on Friday, the anti-aging biotech stated that it is changing its offering price to $25 million, down from the original offering price of $50 million. The company has reportedly issued over 6.3 million shares of common stock, netting the company $8.9 million.
The company, which sits at penny stock status at $0.61 per share, needs the cash, as it reported during its Q2 results last week that it has only enough cash to fund its operations through the first quarter of next year, with posted results showing that Unity had $64.5 million in cash and market securities at the end of the quarter.
While Unity intends to use the funds for working capital, R&D expenses and capital expenditures related to progressing clinical programs, the company stated that the amount and timing of expenditures will depend on several factors.
“We therefore cannot estimate with certainty the number of net proceeds to be used for the purposes described above. We may find it necessary or advisable to use the net proceeds for other purposes, and we will have broad discretion in the application of the net proceeds. Pending the uses described above, we plan to invest the net proceeds, if any, from this offering in short-term, investment-grade, interest-bearing securities,” the SEC filing said.
While Unity has faced staff axing and other difficulties in its path, it has provided a ray of hope as the company posted relatively positive data for the 12- and 18-week intervals for its Phase II BEHOLD study of UBX1325, a senolytic Bcl-xL inhibitor, in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME). UBX1325 was one of the major focuses of the company after its lead candidate flopped in 2020. — Tyler Patchen
Maryland-based biotech lowers deal size ahead of IPO
Maryland’s Shuttle Pharmaceuticals, a biotech developing drugs to improve radiation therapy, has decided to lower its proposed deal size for its upcoming IPO.
Renaissance Capital reported on Friday that the biotech plans to raise $10 million by now offering 1.7 million units at $6. The company had most recently tried to offer 2.5 million shares at a range of $4 to $5, which was down from its original terms of 3 million shares at $4.50 to $5. Shuttle Pharmaceuticals will be now expected to raise 11% less in proceeds than previously anticipated, according to Renaissance.
Founded in 2012, the biotech’s sole candidate, Ropidoxuridine (IPdR), is an oral, halogenated pyrimidine with strong cancer radiation sensitizing properties being developed for patients with glioblastoma and sarcoma. The company hopes to initiate Phase II studies with the candidate later in the year. — Tyler Patchen
