NexMed to buy CRO Bio-Quant to boost Nasdaq compliance bid
The takeover, slated to complete this year, will see Bio-Quant continue to offer a full range of drug discovery and preclinical development services as a wholly-owned NexMed subsidiary.
The deal, which will also see Bio-Quant CEO Bassam Damaj appointed chief of the combined enterprise, will add capabilities and licensing expertise that NexMed believes will aid its ongoing development and drug commercialisation efforts.
NexMed did not respond to Outsourcing-pharma’s request for comment. However, in a statement issued by the firm CFO Mark Westgate said the deal is an integral part of the compliance plan presented to Nasdaq listing authorities
“We are hopeful that [the agreement] will give the panel further confidence that we will regain and maintain compliance with all applicable listing requirements,” continued Westgate.
Current NexMed CEO Vivian Liu, who will become the firm’s executive vice president, said that: “Through the transaction, NexMed acquires a revenue generating, cash flow positive business which has grown 250 per cent in the past five years.”
Nasdaq compliance plan
NexMed, a New Jersey developer of topical drugs based on its NexACT delivery system, has struggled to maintain its place on the index since October last year when its price dipped below its $1 per share requirement.
This price decline followed a “non-approvable letter” from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for alprostadil a candidate erectile dysfunction treatment.
The next month, NexMed suffered a further blow when development partner Novartis shelved plans to submit NM100060, a topical application of terbinafine formulated with NexACT for the treatment of onychomycosis, to US regulators.
Despite these difficulties and several Nasdaq delist warning letters in 2009, NexMed has maintained its position on the index and, in August, set out how it plans to regain compliance, including the proposed Bio-Quant deal.
