The Daily Biotech Pulse: Recro Restructures, Biotechs Raise Proceeds In Droves, Silk Road, NGM Biopharma To Debut

Here's a roundup of top developments in the biotech space over the last 24 hours.

Scaling The Peaks

(Biotech stocks hitting 52-week highs on April 3)

• Denali Therapeutics Inc DNLI
• GALAPAGOS NV/S ADR GLPG
• Global Blood Therapeutics Inc GBT
• Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc IONS
• Zoetis Inc ZTS

Down In The Dumps

(Biotech stocks hitting 52-week lows on April 3)'

• Adamas Pharmaceuticals Inc ADMS
• Evoke Pharma Inc EVOK
• Meridian Bioscience, Inc. VIVO
• Obalon Therapeutics Inc OBLN(announced restructuring initiatives, including workforce reduction)
• Precision BioSciences Inc DTIL

Stock In Focus

Recro To Cut Jobs, Seek Strategic Partner For Pain Medication

Recro Pharma Inc REPH, a specialty pharma company, announced an initiative to reduce operating expenses at its Acute Care Segment, including a reduction of 50 employees at the segment. The announcement comes in the wake of the FDA handing down a second complete response letter relating to its NDA for meloxicam.

The company clarified its thriving CDMO segment will not be affected.

Recro said it expects to record charges related to the headcount reductions as well as additional restructuring costs. The plan, according to the company, will reduce 2019 planned cash burn, by virtue of which it expects to become cash flow break even in the third quarter and cash flow positive in the second half of 2019.

Expressing hopes of meloxicam being approved eventually, Recro said it plans to request a meeting with the FDA to determine a path forward for IV meloxicam. The company also said it will seek a strategic partner for the commercialization of IV meloxicam in the wake of the recent setback.

The stock jumped 20.4 percent to $7.85 in after-hours trading.

See Also: Attention Biotech Investors: Mark Your Calendar For These April PDUFA Dates

Common Stock Offerings

Sangamo Therapeutics Inc SGMO, which presented an upbeat pipeline update earlier this week, commenced an underwritten public offering of its common stock, with all the shares earmarked for the offering being offered by the company.

The stock fell 7.21 percent to $12.09 in after-hours trading.

AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc. AVEO commenced an underwritten public offering of its shares of common stock, along with warrants to purchase shares. Subsequently, the company said it priced the offering of 21.739 million shares and short-term warrants to purchase up to 21.739 million shares at $1.15 per share and accompanying warrant. The company said it expects to mobilize gross proceeds of $25 million from the offering.

The stock slumped 21.37 percent to $1.03 in after-hours trading.

Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. PSTI intends to offer shares and warrants in an underwritten public offering and shares of its common stock in a concurrent registered direct offering. All the shares are to be sold by the company.

The stock plunged 21.01 percent to 68 cents in after-hours trading.

Israeli medical device maker InspireMD Inc NSPR announced its intention to offer shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering.

The stock slumped 28.01 percent to $5.14 in after-hours trading.

On The Radar

Earnings

Dare Bioscience Inc DARE (before the market open)

IPOs

Medical device maker Silk Road Medical priced its upsized offering of 6 million shares at $20 per share. The shares are to be listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol SILK.

NGM Biopharmaceuticals Inc, a clinical-stage biotech company that develops therapies for cardio-metabolic, liver, oncologic and ophthalmic diseases, priced its IPO of 6.667 million shares at $16 per share. The company will list the shares on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol NGM.