With studies of its lone clinical asset on the rocks, Adamis Pharmaceuticals is weighing its future. And, as it stands, all options are on the table.
Monday, the San Diego-based specialty drug maker said it kicked off a process “to explore a range of strategic and financing alternatives focused on maximizing stockholder value.” The move comes in the wake of a halt on a phase 2/3 trial of the company’s sole clinical prospect Tempol, which Adamis had been pitting against early COVID-19 in high-risk patients.
As for the future direction of the company—which boasts two commercial products in epinephrine injection Symjepi and opioid overdose reversal med Zimhi (naloxone)—Adamis says it could go any number of ways.
For starters, the company could partner on or sell “one or both” of its marketed drugs, Adamis explained. The company could also become the subject of a “merger, sale or reverse merger,” Adamis added.
Finally, the company says it could seek out a cash lifeline either separately or in addition to the above plans.
To help navigate, Adamis has tapped investment bank Raymond James & Associates as a strategic adviser.
“There can be no assurance that this strategic review process will result in the company pursuing any transaction or that any transaction, if pursued, will be completed,” Adamis said in its release, adding that it “has not established a schedule for completion of this strategic review process, nor has it made any definitive decisions at this time related to strategic alternative transactions.”
If Adamis fails to gin up some sort of transaction, it may have to consider bankruptcy or “other alternatives for restructuring and resolving its liabilities,” the company warned.
Meanwhile, Adamis said it’ll look to tighten its belt and save on costs, cautioning that layoffs and R&D culls could be on the horizon.
Adamis’ outlook darkened late last month, when the antiviral Tempol flunked its phase 2/3 trial and sent the company’s shares plummeting. Nowadays, the company's shares are trading at around 17 cents.
Beyond COVID-19, Adamis is preparing a gel version of Tempol to enter phase 3 trials for radiation dermatitis, with an oral capsule form ready for phase 2/3 studies in respiratory disease.