Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Acusphere warned of Nasdaq delisting

By Mass High Tech Staff

After failing to regain Nasdaq minimum bid price compliance, biotech firm Acusphere Inc. received notice of potential delisting of its common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market, according to the company. The Nasdaq Global Market requires stock listings to maintain a bid price of at least $1.00 per share.

Acusphere (Nasdaq: ACUS) reported that it plans to request continued listing in a hearing before the Nasdaq Listings Qualifications Panel, likely to be scheduled for August or September. The company, according to its report, does not plan to implement a reverse stock split, which could help it regain compliance, until after the hearing. The panel may choose to allow Acusphere to have up to 180 additional days to regain compliance.

The Watertown-based pharmaceutical drug developer uses its microsphere technology to produce better drug delivery systems. Imagify for Injectable Suspension, Acusphere’s lead product candidate, is a drug that aids in detecting coronary artery disease using ultrasound instead of nuclear stress testing.

In March, Acusphere licensed its drug-delivery technology for the treatment of cancer to biopharmaceutical company Cephalon Inc. for $10 million cash. The license to Cephalon, which is based in Frazer, Pa., includes rights to its formulation of generic cancer drug paclitaxel. A company official added that the deal validates the firm’s hydrophobic drug-delivery system in the field of oncology, or cancer treatment.

Acusphere reported a 2007 net loss of $53.7 million on revenue of $2.7 million. The biotech has 118 employees.