A publicly traded Pittsburgh biotech company that has faced restructuring hardships in recent months is putting an indefinite pause on all business operations as it looks to secure a possible sale or merger with another firm.
NeuBase Therapeutics Inc., based in South Oakland, announced via a press release that its board of directors decided "to halt further development of the company’s programs and to conduct a comprehensive exploration of strategic alternatives focused on maximizing shareholder value."
The company said these alternatives could include an acquisition, a merger, a business combination or some other type of transaction. Furthermore, the company said such a deal, if pursued, could not be guaranteed to be "completed on attractive terms, if at all."
Since the announcement, NeuBase (NASDAQ: NBSE), which employs about two dozen people, has seen its stock fall more than 21% to about $1 per share in intraday trading compared to Wednesday's closing price of $1.24 per share. Its 52-week range has spanned from $0.86 per share to $29 per share and its market capitalization stands at about $1.9 million.
Multiple press inquiries to the company either became undeliverable or went unreturned.
The setback in stock price for NeuBase, developers of gene-altering medications designed to reach specific parts of the body for treatment, is the latest of several unfavorable developments for the young company.
This past June, NeuBase implemented a reverse stock split plan so that it could return to the Nasdaq Capital Market's listing compliance rules, which require that shares of companies have a minimum bid price of $1 per share of common stock sold on the exchange. Prior to the stock split, NeuBase's shares had reached a low of about $0.15 per share.
Then in October 2022, NeuBase announced President William Mann would vacate his post after holding it for about four months following a promotion. That decision came just weeks after NeuBase cut about 60% of its staff as part of a company restructuring effort.
