Catalyst Biosciences Inc Com (NASDAQ:CBIO)

In Aug 2015, South San Francisco-based Catalyst Biosciences completed a reverse merger with a beleaguered, NASDAQ-listed, North Carolina biotech named Targacept, and Catalyst Biosciences became a publicly traded company.

This small cap biopharmaceutical has been developing coagulation factors to promote blood clotting in hemophilia patients. Collaborator Isu Abxis of Korea has fully integrated capabilities for clinical development and manufacturing, and is currently testing Catalyst's CB 2679d (aka ISU304), a next-generation coagulation Factor IX variant. CB 2679d has shown a longer duration of action than other Factor IX products, and has the potential to be the first approved subcutaneous injection treatment for hemophilia B (instead of the traditional route of lengthy IV infusions). The Phase 1/2 proof-of-concept study in patients with severe hemophilia B has been underway in Korea since mid-2017, and reports of favorable top line data from the testing has been pushing the stock price up. In Jun 2017, the European Commission and in Sep 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted orphan drug designations for CB 2679d. Isu holds an option to exclusively commercialize Catalyst's factor IX candidates in Korea, while Catalyst retains development and commercial ownership rights of the program outside of Korea.

Oct 31, 2017: . . 10-Q reports 4,310,561 shares
Dec 22, 2017: . . Public stock offering of 1,105,263 shares at $9.50 per share.
Jan 19, 2018: . . 6,366,604 shares reported outstanding
Feb 15, 2018: . . Public stock offering of 3,382,352 shares at $34.00 per share

CBIO stock closed on Feb 12, 2018 at $35.60, before the latest equity offering was announced. The stock price proceeded to drop nearly 30% over the next couple of weeks from this dilution. It was originally expected that the December equity funding would be sufficient to carry the company through to 2019. The surprise Feb equity offering raised an additional $100 million for CBIO's coffers. Perhaps means they are not in any discussions to be acquired, and have therefore funded themselves for further development and trials for many years. Prior cash burn rate has been about $20 million per year.

Price: $26.72 . | . Annualized Dividend: $0 . | . Dividend Yield: 0%