Acer Therapeutics and Opexa Therapeutics Close Merger and Financing
September 19 2017 - 5:18PM
-Merger to create a pre-NDA-stage, Nasdaq-listed,
pharmaceutical company focused on the development and
commercialization of therapies for serious rare diseases with
critical unmet medical need-
Acer Therapeutics Inc., (Nasdaq:ACER), a pharmaceutical company
focused on the acquisition, development and commercialization of
therapies for serious rare and ultra-rare diseases with critical
unmet medical need, announced that today it completed the merger
with Opexa Therapeutics, Inc., under which the stockholders of Acer
(including investors in a financing that closed concurrently with
the merger) become holders of 88.8% of combined company’s
outstanding common stock, with Opexa shareholders retaining 11.2%.
In conjunction with the merger, a syndicate of existing and new
investors led by TVM Capital Life Sciences invested approximately
$15.7 million in Acer (including through a conversion of
approximately $5.7 million in outstanding convertible notes)
immediately prior to closing of the merger.
“Acer’s goal is to become a leading pharmaceutical company that
acquires, develops and commercializes therapies for the treatment
of patients with serious rare and ultra-rare diseases with critical
unmet medical need,” said Chris Schelling, Chief Executive Officer
and founder of Acer. “We have committed significant resources to
rapidly advance our lead candidate EDSIVO™, a potential life-saving
therapy for patients with vEDS. We believe that the proceeds from
the concurrent financing will allow us to advance EDSIVO™ through
NDA submission with the FDA in the first half of 2018. As a public
company, we now look forward to engaging with a broader pool of
investors as we seek to advance and expand our pipeline and make
multiple products available to patients over the next several
years.”
About the Merger
Existing stockholders of Acer, as well as investors in Acer’s
concurrent financing, received newly issued shares of Opexa common
stock in connection with the merger. In the combined company: (a)
Opexa shareholders retained 11.2%, (b) Acer stockholders own 63.8%
(excluding shares issued to them in the concurrent financing), and
(c) the investors participating in the concurrent financing own 25%
(excluding shares previously held by them). The combined company
has approximately 6.6 million shares of common stock outstanding,
following a reverse split of 1-for-10.355527.
Upon completion of the merger today, Opexa was renamed Acer
Therapeutics Inc. The combined company will commence trading on the
Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “ACER” on September 21,
2017.
The directors and the sole executive officer of Opexa resigned
from their positions with Opexa upon the closing of the merger, and
the combined company is now under the leadership of Acer’s current
executive management team with Chris Schelling serving as President
and Chief Executive Officer. The board of directors of the combined
company consists of 7 members: Steve Aselage, Jason Amello, Hubert
Birner, John Dunn, Michelle Griffin, Luc Marengere and Mr.
Schelling.
About Acer Therapeutics
Acer, headquartered in Cambridge, MA, is a pharmaceutical
company that acquires, develops and intends to commercialize
therapies for patients with serious rare and ultra-rare diseases
with critical unmet medical need. Acer’s late-stage clinical
pipeline includes two candidates for severe genetic disorders for
which there are few or no FDA-approved treatments: EDSIVO™
(celiprolol) for vEDS, and ACER-001 (a fully taste-masked,
immediate release formulation of sodium phenylbutyrate) for urea
cycle disorders (UCD) and Maple Syrup Urine Disease (MSUD). There
are no FDA-approved drugs for vEDS and MSUD and limited options for
UCD, which collectively impact more than 4,000 patients in the
United States. Acer’s products have clinical proof-of-concept and
mechanistic differentiation, and Acer intends to seek approval for
them in the United States by using the regulatory pathway
established under section 505(b)(2) of the Federal Food, Drug, and
Cosmetic Act, or FFDCA, that allows an applicant to rely for
approval at least in part on third-party data, which is expected to
expedite the preparation, submission, and approval of a marketing
application.
For more information, visit www.acertx.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” that
involve substantial risks and uncertainties for purposes of the
safe harbor provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of
historical facts, included in this press release regarding
strategy, future operations, future financial position, future
revenue, projected expenses, prospects, plans and objectives of
management are forward-looking statements. Examples of such
statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to
Acer’s listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market; expectations regarding
the capitalization, resources and ownership structure of the
company; the potential for EDSIVO™ (celiprolol) and ACER-001 to
safely and effectively target diseases; the adequacy of the
company’s capital to support its future operations and its ability
to successfully initiate and complete clinical trials; the nature,
strategy and focus of the company; the development and commercial
potential of any product candidates of the company; and the
executive and board structure of the company. Acer may not actually
achieve the plans, carry out the intentions or meet the
expectations or projections disclosed in the forward-looking
statements and you should not place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on
management’s current expectations and involve risks and
uncertainties. Actual results and performance could differ
materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements
as a result of many factors, including, without limitation, risks
and uncertainties associated with the ability to project future
cash utilization and reserves needed for contingent future
liabilities and business operations, the availability of sufficient
resources of the company to meet its business objectives and
operational requirements, the fact that the results of earlier
studies and trials may not be predictive of future clinical trial
results, the protection and market exclusivity provided by Acer’s
intellectual property, risks related to the drug development and
the regulatory approval process and the impact of competitive
products and technological changes. Acer disclaims any intent or
obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect
events or circumstances that exist after the date on which they
were made.
Investor Contact:Hans VitzthumLifeSci
AdvisorsPh: 212-915-2568hans@lifescieadvisors.com
Acer Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACER)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
Acer Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACER)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024