Scopus Biopharma Inc SCPS shares, which debuted on the Nasdaq Wednesday, are ripping higher.
What Happened: New York-based Scopus, a biopharma company developing therapeutics for serious diseases with significant unmet needs, offered 500,000 shares through a Regulation A+ Tier 2 offering. The offering was priced at $5.50 per share.
Following the IPO, the shares began trading on the Nasdaq Wednesday under the ticker symbol "SCPS."
The stock opened Wednesday's session at $7.70, up from the IPO price of $5.50, and rose to an intraday high of $9.99 before pulling back and settling at $5.92.
Scopus gap-opened Thursday's session sharply higher at $20.84 and accelerated further to a high of $47.86.
Although the stock has ticked down from the high, it is still trading with substantial gains, up 541.05% at $37.95 at last check Thursday.
Related Link: The Week Ahead In Biotech: 2 IPOs Plus FDA Decisions On Moderna's COVID Vaccine And Drugs From Amgen, MacroGenics
What's A Reg A+ IPO? The Reg A+ IPO route is used by companies to list their shares either on the NYSE or Nasdaq just like a regular IPO, but without the registration required for public offerings.
The offering has to be qualified by the SEC. A Tier 2 offering, as in the case of Scopus, allows companies to raise up to $50 million in a 12-month period.
This IPO route does away with stringent documentation requirements, allows for more streamlined financial statements without audit obligations and does not mandate providing Exchange Act reports until the company has more than 500 shareholders and $10 million in assets.
SEC regulations allow investors in the Reg A+ IPO to liquidate immediately without any lockup period.
Scopus' offering provides for a 90-day lock-up period for holders with 5% or more of its common stock.
The Company: Scopus' lead development program is an immuno-oncology gene therapy codenamed CO-sTiRNA for the treatment of multiple cancers.
Following positive preclinical studies, the company said it is planning to file an investigational new drug application with the FDA for B-cell lymphoma in the first half of 2021 and begin human trials in the second half of the year.
The company is also collaborating with the NIH for the study of its second lead program, MRI-1867. It is continuing to conduct pre-clinical work for MRI-1867 in systemic sclerosis that will likely support an IND filing with the FDA.
Scopus has also partnered with the Hebrew University on several additional research and development programs related to a proprietary opioid-sparing anesthetic and synthesis of novel compounds and new chemical entities.
For the six-month period ended June 30, the company reported a loss of $8.65 million.
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