Acasti Pharma Inc. (ACST) is down 4.42% in the pre-market trading session at the price of $2.16 despite any recent news. ACST is a late-stage specialty pharma company. It has the capacity to deliver drugs and technologies for the treatment of rare and orphan diseases. Its drug delivery technologies have the potential to improve the performance of currently marketed drugs.
Successful Merger with Grace Therapeutics, Inc.
On 27th August 2021, ACST published the completion of its previously disclosed merger with Grace Therapeutics, Inc. The successful completion of the merger supports the company to build a premier, late-stage specialty pharma company centered on rare diseases. Acasti expects to have enough cash on its balance sheet to deliver two years of runway operations. The merged companies will be run by President and Chief Executive Officer Jan D’Alvise, under the direction of the newly elected Board of Directors. All Grace employees will transition to Acasti. They will continue to maintain a research and development laboratory and commercial presence in North Brunswick.
CEO of ACST, Jan D’Alvise, remarked that they remain encouraged and excited about the planned acquisition of Grace. They believe this transaction will be transformative for their company and shareholders. Grace has developed novel drug delivery technologies and is applying them to approved pharmaceutical compounds with proven safety and efficacy. These technologies have enabled them to customize the formulation of marketed drugs in new ways that address unmet medical needs in rare and orphan diseases. They plan to utilize the Section 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act for clinical development and approval.
ACST First Quarter Fiscal 2022 Financial Results
On 12th August 2021, ACST presented business updates and announced its operating and financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2022 ended 30th June 2021. Loss from operation was $3.1 million for the three months ended on 30th June 2021. Operating loss was $4.1 million for the same period of 2020. The change resulted from the reduction in research and development, administrative expenses, and marketing expenses.
ACST reported a net loss of $3.1 million or $0.01 per share for the three months ended on 30th June 2021. It represents a drop of $1.6 million from the net loss of $4.7 million or $0.05 per share for the three months ended 30th June 2020. The reduction in net loss was due to a decrease in research and development expenses. Sales and marketing expenses also declined due to the discontinuation of CaPre commercialization activities. Cashflows, cash, and cash equivalents were $57.7 million by 30th June 2021. They were $12.1 million on 30th June 2020.
