Ann Arbor, Michigan — Biotech company Aastrom Biosciences Inc. announced the pricing of a 46-million-share public offering, sending its stock price tumbling to a 52-week low.
Aastrom, which is developing therapies that use stem cells to treat a number of chronic cardiovascular diseases, priced its shares at 26 cents per unit and hopes to raise $10.9 million from the offering. The pricing announcement sent the company’s shares plummeting as low as 22 cents Friday morning, before they rebounded slightly. Aastrom’s stock closed Thursday at 34 cents.
Aastrom said it plans to use the offering’s proceeds to fund operations and further clinical development of its stem-cell therapies.
The offering was underwritten by Oppenheimer & Co. and is expected to close Jan. 21, according to a statement from the company.
Aastrom is developing products that use a patient’s own stem cells to treat a variety of conditions, including arterial disease and chronic heart failure. The company went public in 1997.
It’s been a bumpy ride recently for Aastrom. In December, the company was granted an extension until March 31 from being delisted from the Nasdaq stock exchange. The company’s stock must trade above $1 for 10 consecutive days before that date, or it will be delisted. In its most recent financial disclosure, the company reported a loss of $3.9 million on revenue of $27,000 for the quarter ended Sept. 30.
In May, Aastrom halted a Phase 2 cardiac regeneration trial when a patient died after being released from the hospital following the trial. The trial, for patients with severe chronic heart failure, has been restarted. The company also is currently conducting a Phase 2b vascular regeneration clinical trial in patients with severe peripheral arterial disease.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Tim Mayleben, who has served on the company’s board since 2005, began his tenure as Aastrom’s new chief executive in December. Aastrom’s previous CEO, George Dunbar, earlier this month joined Ann Arbor venture-capital firm Arboretum Ventures.
