Transaction could qualify as a reverse merger, effectively putting the combined company on NASDAQ.
Point Therapeutics may get revitalized because of a merger agreement with Dara BioSciences™. In May, Point suffered a major setback when the FDA put one of its drug candidates on hold. Since then, the company has cut its staff down to two and was threatened by a possible delisting from NASDAQ.
Point and Dara believe that their agreement will qualify as a reverse merger under NASDAQ rules. As a result, although Point’s common stock is currently listed, Dara intends to file an initial listing application.
The current Dara Biosciences will combine with a subsidiary of Point. After the transaction has taken effect, Dara stockholders will hold 96.4% of Point’s outstanding shares of common stock.
The combined entity will be called Dara BioSciences. The firm plans to evaluate and prioritize its R&D programs. Dara and Point’s combined pipeline includes compounds to treat metabolic diseases.
In May, the FDA put a hold on Point’s Tablostat clinical development program. An interim analyses of two Phase III studies in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) failed to meet the primary or secondary endpoints. Due to cash limitations, the company decided to stop funding Phase II trials of Tablostat in melanoma, leukemia, and pancreatic cancer.
About four months later, Point received a letter stating that its securities were subject to potential delisting from NASDAQ. The company has since requested a hearing and intends to seek continued listing of its common stock pending the completion of the merger.
