Verastem Inc (NASDAQ: VSTM) shares rose Friday, after it reported a $43-million common stock offering at $6 per share.
The Boston-based Verastem, a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing drugs to improve the survival and quality of life of cancer patients, today announced a registered sale to funds managed by Consonance Capital of 7,166,666 shares of the Company’s common stock at a price of $6.00 per share.
The gross proceeds to Verastem Oncology from the offering are expected to be approximately $43.0 million. The offering is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close this coming Monday, June 18
Verastem Oncology is currently developing duvelisib, a dual inhibitor of PI3K-delta and PI3K-gamma, which has successfully met its primary endpoint in a Phase 2 study in indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma and a Phase 3 clinical trial in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL).
Verastem Oncology’s New Drug Application (NDA) requesting the full approval of duvelisib for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory CLL/SLL and accelerated approval for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma (FL) was accepted for filing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, granted Priority Review and assigned a target action date of October 5
In addition, Verastem Oncology is developing the focal adhesion kinase inhibitor defactinib, which is currently being evaluated in three separate clinical collaborations in combination with immunotherapeutic agents for the treatment of several different cancer types, including pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, and mesothelioma.
Friday morning saw the stock balloon 51 cents, or 9.1%, to $6.09
