Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. (VRDN) stock soared 16.00% in the current market trading session at the price of $12.40 after announcing the pricing of public offering shares of common stock and preferred stock. VRDN is a leading biotechnology company that develops new treatments and therapies for patients dealing with serious diseases.
Pricing of Public Offering of Shares of Common Stock
On 21st September 2021, VRDN published the pricing of an underwritten public offering with gross proceeds of $85.0 million. The company is selling approximately 6,185,454 shares of common stock at a public offering price of $11.00 per share and 23,126 shares of preferred stock at a public offering price of $733.37 per share. Additionally, VRDN has presented a 30-day option to purchase an extra 1,159,089 shares of common stock at the public offering price. VRDN aims to use the proceeds from public offerings to advance the preclinical development of its VRDN-001, VRDN-002, VRDN-004, and VRDN-005 programs. The offering will close on 23rd September 2021 and is subject to customary closing conditions.
VRDN Reported Second Quarter 2021 Financial Results
On 11th August 2021, VRDN published financial results for the second quarter ended 30th June 2021, and provided business updates. Cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments were $109.3 million as of 30th June 2021 compared to $127.6 million as of 31st December 2020. For the second quarter ended 30th June 2021, the net loss was $18.0 million. Net loss was $6.4 million for the comparable quarter of the previous year. VRDN reported approximately 31,294,508 shares of common stock outstanding as of 10th August 2021. They comprised approximately 9,542,087 shares of common stock and 21,752,421 shares of common stock issuable upon the conversion of 326,270 shares of preferred stock.
During the second quarter ended on 30th June 2021, research and development expenses grew from $8.8 million to $12.6 million. R&D expenses were $3.8 million during the same quarter of the prior year. The higher R&D expenses were driven by the advancement of the VRDN’s lead programs. The company reported an increase of $3.8 million to $6.5 million in general and administrative expenses during the second quarter of 2021. The reported G&A expenses were $2.7 million during the comparable quarter of the previous year. The increase in G&A expenses resulted from higher personnel-related costs, including severance and share-based compensation charges.
