Mina Sooch, a veteran biotechnology executive and investor has taken her latest endeavor to the public markets using a reverse merger strategy.
Ocuphire Pharma, Inc., a clinical-stage company based in Farmington Hills and focused on treating eye disorders with four different drugs currently in trials, has completed a previously announced deal to merge with Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NasdaqCM: REXN) of Rockville, Md.
The combined company will operate under the name Ocuphire Pharma (NASDAQ: OCUP) and trading is expected to begin Friday morning.
As a result of the merger with Rexahn, Ocuphire shareholders own about 86.6 percent of the company's shares. Upon the closing of the merger on Thursday evening, there are just over 7 million shares of the company's common stock outstanding.
Additionally, Ocuphire closed on $21.15 million in financing led by Altium Capital Management, a health care investment in New York City.
In total, the company has raised nearly $30 million, Sooch told Crain's in an interview, adding that Michigan angel groups have helped the company to a great extent.
Sooch will serve as president and CEO of the combined company.
Ocuphire's lead drug called Nyxol is a once-daily eye drop aimed at treating common eye disorders such as glaucoma and near-sightedness.
"And we're working on all of those, we're either in phase three or phase two," Sooch said. "And we look forward to continuing that work over the next few years, and working towards being able to submit a package to the FDA for potential approval."
Sooch said she's confident that the latest round of financing will be sufficient to propel the company over the finish line with regulatory approvals, although she noted that getting all four approvals is not mandatory for the company to be successful.
"My philosophy is you should ... always raise more capital than you need — that you should raise capital in a way in which there's an opportunity to deliver value back to your shareholders," said Sooch. "You over-finance companies, and you have to have an exit, or a market cap, that would be outsized in order to create those returns."
As Crain's has previously reported, Sooch has been an integral part of the region's biotech sector over the last decade, leading companies focused on treating non-Hodgkin lymphoma and bad cholesterol. She raised tens of millions of dollars in venture capital funding in the process.
Now with Ocuphire, she told Crain's she believes the company is in a position for big things as well.
"2021 is going to be a really important year for Ocuphire," said Sooch, adding that the company's various benchmarks towards full approvals will become abundantly clear. "We've worked hard to build a solid foundation, we've been productive every year. Every year, you can see huge milestones, and next year will be even more, and we look forward to delivering on those."
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Biotech entrepreneur Sooch completes merger to take latest company public - Crain's Detroit Business
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