EXCLUSIVE: Pasithea Expands Its Core Therapeutic Pipeline With This Acquisition

Pasithea Therapeutics Corp KTTA has acquired Alpha-5 integrin LLC, a privately-held preclinical-stage company developing a monoclonal antibody (mAbs) for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neuroinflammatory disorders.

Why It Is Important: Alpha-5's lead therapeutic candidate can potentially improve clinical outcomes in patients with ALS. Post-mortem studies support that and reproducible significant improvement in behavior and survival in the SOD1 mice model. 

"The Alpha-5 acquisition is transformative for Pasithea by adding a new drug with a novel mechanism of action to our pipeline while preserving our strong cash position. In addition to the Alpha-5 development program, we also acquired a wet lab and scientific team to develop our existing tolerizing vaccine and complement program," stated Tiago Reis Marques, CEO of Pasithea. 

Also Read: EXCLUSIVE: Pasithea Therapeutics Starts New Multiple Sclerosis Vaccine Development Program.

Pasithea plans to file an Alpha-5 investigational new drug application with an orphan drug designation by the end of 2023.

Transaction Details: Pasithea has acquired Alpha-5 at an enterprise value of $3.75 million, payable in 3.26 million Pasithea shares, valued at $1.15/share, plus 1 million warrants. 

An entity controlled by Paul B. Manning, Chairman & CEO of PBM Capital, a healthcare-focused investment firm, owned Alpha-5. After the transaction, it will own approximately 10% of Pasithea's common stock.

Price Action: KTTA shares are closed at $1.01 on Tuesday.