Shelton’s NanoViricides said Monday it closed on an $11.5 million public offering. Proceeds will go toward advancing its COVID-19 and anti-shingles programs, the company said.
The company said it sold 1.37 million shares at $7.30 a share in the underwritten offering. Underwriters also fully exercised an over-allotment option for 205,279 additional shares at the offering price.
The offering netted $10.53 million after commission and fees. NanoViricides said the capital would help it bring its lead drug, a topical cream for shingles, into human trials.Â
The company said it plans to file an investigational new drug (IND) application with the FDA to begin the trials, but has not specified when it expects to do so.Â
The company also says it has been working to develop an antiviral for COVID-19, building on earlier work it did in the wake of the 2014 MERS (Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome), which was also caused by a coronavirus. That work was discontinued when the MERS threat dissipated.Â
NanoViricides has seen its stock rise amid the coronavirus pandemic. However, some analysts have been skeptical of its ability to deliver on a COVID drug, citing the 15-year-old company’s finances and lack of a track record in bringing drugs into human trials.
The stock was trading at $6.63 Tuesday morning, up from $2.51 at the end of last year.
Kingswood Capital Markets, a division of Benchmark Investments, Inc., acted as sole bookrunner for the offering while Maxim Group LLC acted as financial adviser.
Contact Natalie Missakian at news@newhavenbiz.com.
