Alex Philippidis Senior News Editor Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News

As Stocks Fall, Many Biopharmas Struggle To Comply With Bid-Price, Market-Value Minimums

The end of the biopharma bull market last fall also brought with it a wave of new companies finding themselves at risk of being kicked out of a public market in which they trade stock, or “delisted.” As investors pulled back from biopharma stocks, some companies—often smaller players—saw their shares fall below the minimum $1 bid price, the reason most cited by public exchanges for issuing notices of delisting. The next most-cited reason was noncompliance with the market-value minimums required by each market, followed by failure to file quarterly or annual reports in a timely fashion.

Of 47 delisting notices received by the 41 companies making this list—up from 26 in last year’s list—nearly half (22) came between January 1 and March 3. Another 13 came after September 21, 2015, the day investors began steadily selling off biopharma shares following the furor unleashed by the 5000% increase in Daraprim’s price and Hillary Clinton’s proposal to prevent runaway drug price hikes. The remaining 12 notices were issued before the selloff.

Following is a list of 41 companies placed at risk of delisting since 2015, the date of notice, the action taken, the reason(s) offered by the exchange, and the status, where disclosed. Companies on this list were found through the lists of noncompliant members maintained on their websites by NASDAQ and the New York Stock Exchange, as well as through publicly available filings, press releases, and online searches. Not included are companies that delisted from exchanges as a result of mergers and acquisitions.
 

Alexza Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ Capital Market: ALXA)

Date: January 20, 2016; June 19, 2015

Actions: Notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (bid price, January 20, 2016); notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (market value, June 19, 2015)

Reasons: Noncompliance with minimum $1 closing bid price for 30 consecutive business days; noncompliance with $35 million minimum market value for 30 consecutive business days.

Status: Company has 180 calendar days, until June 20, 2016, to regain compliance through a minimum closing bid price of at least $1 per share for a minimum of 10 consecutive business days.

As for market value, noncompliance remained as of December 16, 2015. On December 22, the company said it intended to request a hearing to present its compliance plan and request a further extension of time. The request automatically stayed any delisting or suspension action pending a final decision and the expiration of any further extension granted by the Panel. The company can receive up to 180 days from December 17 to regain compliance.

Atossa Genetics (NASDAQ Capital Market: ATOS)

Date: September 28, 2015

Action: Notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (bid price)

Reason: Noncompliance with minimum $1 closing bid price for 30 consecutive business days

Status: Company has 180 calendar days, until March 28, 2016, to regain compliance.

Biodel (NASDAQ Capital Market: BIOD)

Date: September 21, 2015

Action: Notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (bid price)

Reason: Noncompliance with minimum $1 closing bid price for 30 consecutive business days, from August 6, 2015 to September 16, 2015

Status: Company has 180 calendar days, until March 21, 2016, to regain compliance.

Caladrius Biosciences (NASDAQ Capital Market: CLBS)

Date: February 25, 2016

Action: Notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (bid price)

Reason: Noncompliance with minimum $1 closing bid price for previous 30 consecutive business days

Status: Company has 180 calendar days, until August 23, 2016, to regain compliance.

Cellectar Biosciences (NASDAQ Capital Market: CLRB)

Date: January 21, 2016; August 14, 2015

Action: Notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (bid price); notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (stockholders’ equity)

Reason: Noncompliance with minimum $1 closing bid price for 30 consecutive business days, from December 7, 2015, through January 20, 2016. Noncompliance with minimum of $2.5 million in stockholders’ equity for continued listing; company reported stockholders’ equity was $2,373,371 in its Form 10-Q for the second quarter 2015.

Status: Company has 180 calendar days, until July 21, 2016, to regain compliance. Company previously filed a definitive proxy statement on January 7, 2016, requesting stockholder approval of a reverse split. Company said it anticipates the reverse split would enable it to regain compliance.

As for stockholders’ equity, company submitted a plan to NASDAQ to regain compliance, requiring a series of actions to be completed by February 10, 2016, including the filing of a registration statement with the SEC for a underwritten public offering of equity and the closing of that offering. While the registration statement was filed on time, the company did not complete the offering by that date. Company said on February 17 that it would pursue an appeal of NASDAQ’s determination against granting an additional extension to regain compliance.

Cesca Therapeutics (NASDAQ Capital Market: KOOL)

Date: March 30, 2015

Action: Notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (bid price)

Reason: Noncompliance with minimum $1 closing bid price for previous 30 consecutive business days

Status: On March 2, 2016, shareholders approved a 1-for-20 reverse stock split implemented by the company’s board with the goal of regaining compliance with minimum bid price listing maintenance requirements. Previously, company received additional 180 calendar days, until March 28, 2016, to regain compliance after failing to meet the bid-price rule at the end of an initial 180-calendar-day period on September 28, 2015.

Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ Capital Market: CYCC)

Date: February 2, 2015

Action: Notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (bid price)

Reason: Noncompliance with minimum $1 closing bid price for previous 30 consecutive business days

Status: On August 4, 2015, company received NASDAQ approval to transfer the listing of its common stock from the NASDAQ Global Market to the NASDAQ Capital Market, effective August 6, 2015. Company also won an additional 180-calendar-day grace period to regain compliance with NASDAQ’s minimum bid price requirement, ending February 2, 2016, after anticipating it would be unable to regain compliance when the first grace period ended on August 3, 2015.

When the company could not regain compliance on February 2, 2016, it received a letter from NASDAQ staff notifying it that its common stock would be subject to delisting unless the company requested a hearing in a timely manner before a NASDAQ Listing Qualifications Panel—something the company said it will do. The panel can grant another 180-calendar-day grace period, until August 1, 2016, allowing the company to satisfy the bid price rule.

Cytori Therapeutics (NASDAQ Capital Market: CYTX)

Date: June 4, 2015

Action: Notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (bid price)

Reason: Noncompliance with minimum $1 closing bid price for previous 30 consecutive business days

Status: Company has been granted until May 31, 2016, to regain compliance, and on January 27, 2016, won approval to transfer its listing from NASDAQ Global Market to NASDAQ Capital Market, also with compliance in mind. Company appealed NASDAQ staff determination of December 1, 2015, that company stock be delisted after it failed to regain compliance after a 180-calendar-day grace period that ended December 1, 2015.

Eleven Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ Global Market: EBIO)

Date: March 3, 2016

Action: Notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (bid price and market value)

Reason: Noncompliance with minimum $1 closing bid price for previous 30 consecutive business days; noncompliance with minimum of $5 million in stockholders’ equity for continued listing.

Status: Company has 180 calendar days, until August 30, 2016, to regain compliance with both bid price and market value rules.

Enzon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ Capital Market: ENZN)

Date: November 11, 2015

Action: Notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (bid price)

Reason: Noncompliance with minimum $1 closing bid price for previous 30 consecutive business days

Status: Company has 180 calendar days, until May 9, 2016, to regain compliance.

Erba Diagnostics (NYSE MKT: ERB)

Date: November 25, 2015

Action: Notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (filing of quarterly report).

Reason: Failure to timely file its 10-Q for the period ending September 30, 2015

Status: On January 22, 2016, company’s plan of compliance accepted by NYSE MKT, which also granted an extension until May 25, 2016, for the company to regain compliance with the continued listing standards. The company will be subject to periodic review by the exchange and could be delisted if it fails to make progress consistent with its compliance plan, or to regain compliance by May 25.

Galena Biopharma (NASDAQ Capital Market: GALE)

Date: February 22, 2016

Action: Notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (bid price)

Reason: Noncompliance with minimum $1 closing bid price for previous 30 consecutive business days

Status: Company has 180 calendar days, until August 22, 2016, to regain compliance.

GenVec (NASDAQ Capital Market: GNVC)

Date: February 24, 2016

Action: Notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (bid price)

Reason: Noncompliance with minimum $1 closing bid price for previous 30 consecutive business days

Status: Company has 180 calendar days, until August 22, 2016, to regain compliance. 

GTx (NASDAQ Capital Market: GTXI)

Date: December 23, 2015

Action: Notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (bid price)

Reason: Noncompliance with minimum $1 closing bid price for previous 30 consecutive business days

Status: Company has 180 calendar days, until June 20, 2016, to regain compliance. 

Heat Biologics (NASDAQ Capital Market: HTBX)

Date: February 22, 2016

Action: Notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (stockholders’ equity)

Reason: Noncompliance with minimum of $2.5 million in stockholders’ equity for continued listing; as of December 31, 2015, company reported stockholders’ equity of $2.495 million.

Status: Company has 45 calendar days, until April 7, 2016, to submit a plan to regain compliance. If the company’s plan is accepted, NASDAQ can grant an extension of up to 180 calendar days toward regaining compliance.

Heron Therapeutics (NASDAQ Capital Market: HRTX)

Date: January 29, 2016

Action: Notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (audit committee composition)

Reason: Noncompliance with rule requiring the audit committee of a company with NASDAQ-listed securities to have a minimum of three members, each of whom satisfies the independence requirements set forth in NASDAQ Listing Rule 5605(a)(2).

Non-compliance resulted from notice of resignation by Kimberly Manhard from the Board of Directors, and its audit, compensation, and nomination and corporate governance committees, effective January 28, 2016. Manhard resigned to accept the executive officer position of executive vice president, drug development for the company.

Status: In regulatory filing dated January 29, 2016, company said it was searching for an independent director to join the company’s board and audit committee, relying on the “cure period” specified by NASDAQ Listing Rule 5605(c)(4)(B)—until the earlier of its next annual meeting or 1 year from the occurrence of the event that caused the failure to comply. However, if the next annual meeting occurs less than 180 days after the event that caused the failure to comply, a company is provided a 180-day cure period.

Immune Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ Capital Market: IMNP)

Date: January 5, 2016

Action: Notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (bid price)

Reason: Noncompliance with minimum $1 closing bid price for previous 30 consecutive business days

Status: Company has 180 calendar days, until July 5, 2016, to regain compliance. 

Interpace Diagnostics Group (NASDAQ Capital Market: IDXG)

Date: January 7, 2016

Action: Notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (bid price)

Reason: Noncompliance with minimum $1 closing bid price for previous 30 consecutive business days

Status: Company has 180 calendar days, until July 5, 2016, to regain compliance.

KaloBios Pharmaceuticals (OTCBB: KBIOQ; formerly NASDAQ: KBIO)

Date: January 13, 2016

Action: Company's common stock suspended from NASDAQ, after company withdrew its appeal of a decision to delist the company's securities from NASDAQ by its listing qualifications staff. The company had been the subject of NASDAQ delisting proceedings starting November 17, 2015, due to its failure to file its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2015.

Reason: The company's new board of directors, installed following the arrest of CEO Martin Shkreli on December 17, 2015, “determined that pursuit of the appeal while the company is not in compliance with the NASDAQ listing standards would require diversion of company resources that could be better spent pursuing the company's business plan and reorganization,” the company said in a January 12, 2016, statement. The delisting notice was sent a day before the company confirmed that Shkreli and associates acquired more than 50% of the company’s outstanding shares .

Status: Shares now traded over-the-counter. On January 26, 2016, NASDAQ filed a Form 25 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to complete the delisting of KaloBios common stock; the delisting became effective 10 days later.

Lpath (NASDAQ Capital Market: LPTN)

Date: July 9, 2015

Action: Notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (bid price)

Reason: Noncompliance with minimum $1 closing bid price for previous 30 consecutive business days

Status: Status: Company has an additional 180 calendar days, until July 5, 2016, to regain compliance, under an extension granted by NASDAQ of a deadline originally set for January 5, 2016.

Nanosphere (NASDAQ Capital Market: NSPH)

Date: January 25, 2016

Action: Notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (bid price)

Reason: Noncompliance with minimum $1 closing bid price for previous 30 consecutive business days

Status: Company has 180 calendar days, until July 25, 2016, to regain compliance.

NovaBay Pharmaceuticals (NYSE MKT: NBY)

Date: April 28, 2015

Action: Notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (stockholders’ equity)

Reason: Noncompliance with minimum requirements for stockholders equity—less than $4 million for issuers that have sustained losses from continuing operations and/or net losses in three of its four most recent fiscal years, and less than $6 million for issuers that have sustained losses from continuing operations and/or net losses in its five most recent fiscal years

Status: On July 10, 2015, NYSE MKT issued a letter accepting the company’s compliance plan, submitted May 28, 2015. The plan was intended to address how the company will regain compliance within 18 months, or by November 28, 2016.

OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ Capital Market: OGXI)

Date: February 25, 2016

Action: Notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (bid price)

Reason: Noncompliance with minimum $1 closing bid price for previous 30 consecutive business days

Status: Company has 180 calendar days, until August 23, 2016, to regain compliance.

Onconova Therapeutics (NASDAQ Capital Market: ONTX)

Date: February 10, 2016

Action: Notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (bid price)

Reason: Noncompliance with minimum $1 closing bid price for previous 30 consecutive business days

Status: Company has 180 calendar days, until August 8, 2016, to regain compliance. 

OXiGENE (NASDAQ Capital Market: OXGN)

Date: December 1, 2015

Action: Notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (bid price)

Reason: Noncompliance with minimum $1 closing bid price for previous 30 consecutive business days

Status: Company has 180 calendar days, until May 31, 2016, to regain compliance.

Prana Biotechnology (NASDAQ Capital Market: PRAN)1

Date: November 2, 2015

Action: Notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (bid price)

Reason: Noncompliance with minimum $1 closing bid price for previous 30 consecutive business days

Status: Company has 180 calendar days, until May 2, 2016, to regain compliance. 

Prima BioMed (NASDAQ Global Market: PBMD)2

Date: February 29, 2016

Action: Notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (bid price)

Reason: Noncompliance with minimum $1 closing bid price for previous 30 consecutive business days, from January 13, 2016, through February 26, 2016.

Status: Company has 180 calendar days, until August 29, 2016, to regain compliance. 

Roka Bioscience (NASDAQ Global Market: ROKA)

Date: February 22, 2016

Action: Notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (bid price)

Reason: Noncompliance with minimum $1 closing bid price for previous 30 consecutive business days

Status: Company has 180 calendar days, until August 22, 2016, to regain compliance. At its 2016 annual meeting, the company said, it plans to seek stockholder approval granting the Board of Directors the authority to effectuate a reverse stock split for the purpose of regaining compliance.

RXi Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ Capital Market: RXII)

Date: May 7, 2015

Action: Notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (bid price)

Reason: Noncompliance with minimum $1 closing bid price for previous 30 consecutive business days

Status: On November 4, 2015, NASDAQ granted the company an additional 180 days, until May 2, 2016, to regain compliance, following the expiration of the company’s first 180-calendar-day grace period.

Signal Genetics (NASDAQ Capital Market: SGNL)

Date: November 24, 2015

Action: Notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (bid price)

Reason: Noncompliance with minimum $1 closing bid price for previous 30 consecutive business days

Status: Company has 180 calendar days, until May 23, 2016, to regain compliance.

StemCells (NASDAQ Capital Market: STEM)

Date: May 14, 2015

Action: Notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (bid price)

Reason: Noncompliance with minimum $1 closing bid price for previous 30 consecutive business days

Status: On November 11, 2015, company approved for an additional 180 calendar days, until May 9, 2016, to regain compliance, following the expiration of its initial 180-calendar-day period on November 10, 2015.

Sunesis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ Capital Market: SNSS)

Date: November 24, 2015

Action: Notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (bid price)

Reason: Noncompliance with minimum $1 closing bid price for previous 30 consecutive business days

Status: Company has 180 calendar days, until May 23, 2016, to regain compliance.

Synta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ Global Market: SNTA)

Date: December 3, 2015

Action: Notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (bid price)

Reason: Noncompliance with minimum $1 closing bid price for previous 30 consecutive business days

Status: Company has 180 calendar days, until May 31, 2016, to regain compliance.

TetraLogic Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ Global Market: TLOG)

Date: February 23, 2016; January 20, 2016

Action: Notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (bid price and market value of publicly held shares; February 23, 2016); notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (market value of listed securities; January 20, 2016).

Reason: Noncompliance with minimum $1 closing bid price for previous 30 consecutive business days; noncompliance with minimum $15 million market value of publicly held shares listed securities for previous 30 consecutive business days (both February 23). Also, noncompliance with minimum $50 million value of listed securities for previous 30 consecutive business days (January 20)

Status: Company has 180 calendar days, until August 22, 2016, to regain bid price and market value of publicly held shares compliance. Company has 180 calendar days, until July 19, 2016, to regain market value of listed securities compliance.

Threshold Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ Capital Market: THLD)

Date: February 10, 2016; January 21, 2016

Action: Notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (market value of listed securities; February 10, 2016); notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (bid price; January 21, 2016).

Reason: Noncompliance with minimum $35 million minimum value of listed securities for previous 30 consecutive business days; noncompliance with minimum $1 closing bid price for previous 30 consecutive business days

Status: Company has 180 calendar days, until August 8, 2016, to regain market value compliance; company has 180 calendar days, until July 19, 2016, to regain market value compliance.

Tianyin Pharmaceutical (NYSE MKT: TPI)

Dates: February 25, 2016; November 25, 2015; October 16, 2015

Actions: Notices of noncompliance with NYSE MKT continued listing requirements

Reasons: Failure to timely file its 10-Q for the quarter ending December 31, 2015 (February 25, 2016); failure to timely file its 10-Q for the quarter ending September 30, 2015 (November 25, 2015); filure to timely file its 10-K annual report for the year ending June 30, 2015 (October 16, 2015)

Status: Company said on March 2 that it was currently “working to compile and disseminate the information required to be included in the Form 10-Q” for the period ending December 31.

On November 25, company said it was “working diligently to compile and disseminate the information required to be included in the Form 10-K and [earlier] Form 10-Q.” The November disclosure came a week after the company submitted a Notification of Late Filing for the 10-Q for the period ending September 30, 2015—and nearly 2 months since the company sent a late-filing notification for the annual report.

Transgenomic (NASDAQ Capital Market: TBIO)

Date: February 23, 2016

Action: Notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (bid price)

Reason: Noncompliance with minimum $1 closing bid price for previous 30 consecutive business days

Status: Company has 180 calendar days, until August 22, 2016, to regain compliance.

Unilife (NASDAQ Capital Market: UNIS)

Date: December 2, 2015

Action: Notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (bid price)

Reason: Noncompliance with minimum $1 closing bid price for previous 30 consecutive business days

Status: Company has 180 calendar days, until May 31, 2016, to regain compliance.

Venaxis (NASDAQ Capital Market: APPY)

Date: March 13, 2015

Action: Notice of delisting or failure to satisfy a continued listing rule or standard (bid price)

Reason: Noncompliance with minimum $1 closing bid price for previous 30 consecutive business days

Status: On February 5, 2016, the company filed a preliminary proxy statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange commission in connection with a Special Meeting of Shareholders seeking shareholder approval of authority to effect a reverse stock split of its common stock, in order to regain compliance. The Special Meeting will be held on March 24, 2016, at 3:00 p.m. local time at the offices of Ballard Spahr LLP, 1225 17th Street, Denver, Colorado.

Company received an initial 180-calendar-day grace period through September 9, 2015, followed by an additional 180-day grace period ending March 8, 2016.

References:
1 Company trades American Depositary Shares on NASDAQ, as well as ordinary shares on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX: PBT) that are in full compliance with ASX listing requirements and are completely independent of the NASDAQ listing.
2 Company trades American Depositary Shares on NASDAQ, as well as ordinary shares on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX: PRR) that are in full compliance with ASX listing requirements and are completely independent of the NASDAQ listing.

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