- Microcap penny stock Algernon Pharmaceuticals (CSE:AGN) has signed a letter of intent (LOI) to sell its chronic cough research program to Seyltx, a private U.S.-based drug development company
- Consideration includes US$2 million in cash and a 20 per cent common share equity position in Seyltx
- Algernon Pharmaceuticals is a Canadian clinical-stage drug development company working to address global unmet medical needs
- Algernon Pharmaceuticals stock (CSE:AGN) is up by 57.14 per cent to C$0.11 per share on the news
Microcap penny stock Algernon Pharmaceuticals (CSE:AGN), a clinical-stage pharmaceutical developer, has signed an LOI to sell its chronic cough research program to Seyltx, a private U.S.-based drug development company.
Seyltx is focused on addressing underserved medical conditions in significant markets. The company is currently developing technology to selectively modulate neuronal receptors in the central nervous system that control pulmonary diseases.
Consideration for the NP-120 (Ifenprodil) research program includes US$2 million in cash and a 20 per cent common share equity position in Seyltx.
Ifenprodil, Algernon’s lead research candidate, is thought to interrupt brain signaling to supress the urge to cough. Seyltx intends to begin an Ifenprodil Phase 2b chronic cough study as soon as possible, with Algernon’s clinical management team on call to support the study.
Ifenprodil yielded positive data in a proof-of-concept Phase 2a study of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and chronic cough, including a significant reduction in cough count.
The acquisition is contingent on a Seyltx financing and the execution of a definitive agreement, the latter expected within the next 90 days.
“We are very pleased to have signed this LOI with Seyltx,” Christopher J. Moreau, Algernon Pharmaceuticals’ CEO, said in a statement. “With the U.S. FDA advisory panel recently voting 12-1 against approving Merck’s chronic cough drug candidate, gefapixant, citing a lack of efficacy, it is very important to continue moving Ifenprodil forward as a potential global treatment of chronic cough.”
The global chronic cough market reached US$6.15 billion in 2021 and is estimated to be valued at US$11.38 billion by 2029.
Algernon management believes it is optimally positioned to take advantage of this tailwind because experimental antitussives – gefapixant (Merck), camlipixant (Bellus Health, GSK) – tend to target single receptors, leaving multiple cough triggers unaccounted for. Ifenprodil, for its part, acts centrally in the brain, representing a higher probability of better patient outcomes.
Algernon Pharmaceuticals is a Canadian clinical-stage drug development company addressing global unmet medical needs. It has active research programs for chronic kidney disease and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis with chronic cough. Its private subsidiary, Algernon NeuroScience, is advancing a proprietary form of DMT for stroke and traumatic brain injury.
Algernon Pharmaceuticals stock (CSE:AGN) is up by 57.14 per cent to C$0.11 per share as of 10:52 am ET. The stock remains down by 81.97 per cent year-over-year.
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