Alzheimer’s drug developer ProMIS loses over 20% of market capitalization in a day
Quotes on shares of ProMIS Neurosciences, a developer of drugs for Alzheimer’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), dropped more than 20% on Friday, July 26. The company announced a private placement for up to $122.7 million, along with positive data from clinical trials with healthy volunteers for its main drug candidate.
Details
Trading began on Friday with a rapid rise for ProMIS Neurosciences. The stock price soared to as high as $4.12 per share, nearly double the previous day’s closing level. However, the surge was followed by an even sharper decline, with the stock ending the trading day down 20.7% at $1.60 per share.
On Friday morning, ProMIS issued two press releases five minutes apart. The first stated that its PMN310 antibody had been found to be safe in testing on healthy volunteers. PMN310, the company’s lead therapeutic antibody candidate, is a monoclonal antibody designed to treat Alzheimer’s disease.
The second press release announced a private placement for up to $122.7 million. ProMIS plans to sell $30.3 million of stock to new and existing investors, who will also receive warrants for additional company shares worth $92.4 million.
Why ProMIS is issuing additional shares
Having reported on Friday that PMN310 had demonstrated a «favorable safety profile» and the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier in healthy volunteers, ProMIS plans to use the proceeds from the private placement for further clinical trials of the Alzheimer’s antibody.
“Today’s announcement marks a pivotal moment for ProMIS and the Alzheimer’s community that underscores our progress advancing PMN310 as a potentially transformative therapeutic option for early Alzheimer’s disease,” the company’s CEO, Neil Warma, was quoted as saying.
ProMIS intends to begin the next stage of trials “in the coming months.” Besides PMN310, the company is working on drugs for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and multiple system atrophy (MSA).
About the stock
According to MarketWatch, two analysts cover the company. They recommend buying the stock, with an average target price of $8.75 per share.
