Akari Therapeutics Receives Notice Related to Delay in 20-F Filing
21 May 2018 - 10:00PM
Akari Therapeutics, Plc (NASDAQ:AKTX), a biopharmaceutical company
focused on the development and commercialization of innovative
therapeutics to treat orphan autoimmune and inflammatory diseases,
today announced that as a result of its inability to timely file
its Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2017
(the “Annual Report”), on May 17, 2018 it received a notice from
The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) that the Company is not in
compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5250(c)(1) for continued
listing. Nasdaq Listing Rule 5250(c)(1) requires Nasdaq-listed
companies to timely file all periodic reports. Akari intends to
regain compliance with Nasdaq’s filing requirements for continued
listing.
As previously disclosed, on May 8, 2018, our former CEO
resigned. His resignation followed the results of an investigation
conducted, with the assistance of an independent law firm, which
revealed that our former CEO incurred personal charges on the
Company’s corporate credit cards in violation of Company
policy.
The notification from Nasdaq notes that Akari is required to
submit a plan to regain compliance with Nasdaq’s filing
requirements for continued listing within 60 calendar days of the
date of the Nasdaq notification letter. Upon acceptance of the
Company’s compliance plan, Nasdaq is permitted to grant an
extension of up to 180 calendar days from the Annual Report’s
filing due date, or until November 12, 2018, for the Company to
regain compliance with Nasdaq’s filing requirements for continued
listing.
The notice has no immediate effect on the listing of the
Company’s American Depositary Shares on Nasdaq. This announcement
is made in compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(b) which
requires prompt disclosure of receipt of a deficiency
notification.
About Akari Therapeutics
Akari is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing
inhibitors of acute and chronic inflammation, specifically the
complement and the eicosanoid system for the treatment of rare and
orphan diseases, in particular those where the complement system or
leukotrienes or both complement and leukotrienes together play a
primary role in disease progression. Akari's lead drug candidate
Coversin™ is a C5 complement inhibitor currently being evaluated in
paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) and atypical hemolytic
uremic syndrome (aHUS). In addition to its C5 inhibitory activity,
Coversin independently and specifically inhibits leukotriene B4
(LTB4) activity. Akari intends to evaluate Coversin in two
conditions, the skin and eye diseases bullous pemphigoid and atopic
keratoconjunctivitis, where the dual action of Coversin on both C5
and LTB4 may be beneficial. Akari is also developing other tick
derived proteins, including long acting versions.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
Certain statements in this press release constitute
“forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking
statements reflect our current views about our plans, intentions,
expectations, strategies and prospects, which are based on the
information currently available to us and on assumptions we have
made. Although we believe that our plans, intentions, expectations,
strategies and prospects as reflected in or suggested by those
forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance
that the plans, intentions, expectations or strategies will be
attained or achieved. Furthermore, actual results may differ
materially from those described in the forward-looking statements
and will be affected by a variety of risks and factors that are
beyond our control. Such risks and uncertainties for our company
include, but are not limited to: needs for additional capital to
fund our operations, an inability or delay in obtaining required
regulatory approvals for Coversin and any other product candidates,
which may result in unexpected cost expenditures; risks inherent in
drug development in general; uncertainties in obtaining successful
clinical results for Coversin and any other product candidates and
unexpected costs that may result therefrom; failure to realize any
value of Coversin and any other product candidates developed and
being developed in light of inherent risks and difficulties
involved in successfully bringing product candidates to market;
inability to develop new product candidates and support existing
product candidates; the approval by the FDA and EMA and any other
similar foreign regulatory authorities of other competing or
superior products brought to market; risks resulting from
unforeseen side effects; risk that the market for Coversin may not
be as large as expected; risks associated with the putative
shareholder class action and SEC requests for information;
inability to obtain, maintain and enforce patents and other
intellectual property rights or the unexpected costs associated
with such enforcement or litigation; inability to obtain and
maintain commercial manufacturing arrangements with third party
manufacturers or establish commercial scale manufacturing
capabilities; the inability to timely source adequate supply of our
active pharmaceutical ingredients from third party manufacturers on
whom the company depends; our inability to obtain additional
capital on acceptable terms, or at all; unexpected cost increases
and pricing pressures; uncertainties of cash flows and inability to
meet working capital needs; and risks and other risk factors
detailed in our public filings with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission, including our most recently filed Annual
Report on Form 20-F and in our Report on Form 6-K filed with the
SEC on October 17, 2017. Except as otherwise noted, these
forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press
release and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any of
these statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after
this press release. We caution investors not to place considerable
reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press
release.
For more information
Investor Contact:
Peter Vozzo Westwicke Partners (443) 213-0505
peter.vozzo@westwicke.com
Media Contact:
Mary-Jane Elliott / Sukaina Virji / Nicholas Brown Consilium
Strategic Communications +44 (0)20 3709
5700 Akari@consilium-comms.com
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