Despite reporting positive Phase II results for its lead candidate last year, Vaccinex will soon no longer be a publicly traded company after falling short of Nasdaq requirements.
The US-based company will delist its shares of common stock from Nasdaq via a Form 25 it intends to submit to the Securities and Exchange Commission on or around the 17 March. Form 25s are used by public company to officially delist their securities from a stock exchange, with delisting becoming effective 10 days after the document is filed.
Vaccinex, currently listed on Nasdaq under the ticker VCNX, had its common stock trading suspended in December 2024 following a hearings panel from Nasdaq amidst financial shortcomings. Nasdaq notified Vaccinex of delisting intentions after equity requirements for companies trading on the stock exchange were not met.
Vaccinex went public in 2018, raising around $40m to advance its pipeline of neurodegenerative disease therapies. The initial public offering (IPO) was priced at $12 per share, though share prices have since plummeted – arriving at $3.82 by the start of December 2024. Vaccinex’s market cap is currently just shy of $2.5m.
As with many early-stage companies, Vaccinex funnelled the majority of its resources into a lead candidate. The asset, called pepinemab, is an antibody being evaluated in neurogenerative diseases and cancer indications. As pepinemab advanced through studies, Vaccinex’s research and development expenses grew. As per its most recent quarterly results ending September 2024, Vaccinex was left with just $2.9m in cash.
Vaccinex affirmed it “plans to continue to focus on development of its lead product, pepinemab, to treat Alzheimer’s disease and cancer through partnerships, grants and other financing avenues.”
Pepinemab, previously called pepinemabin, has shown promise, producing positive topline results in a Phase Ib/II trial (NCT04381468) in patients with Alzheimer’s disease in July 2024. Vaccinex reported that its asset, given as a monotherapy, resulted in a statistically significant increase in FDG-PET signal in areas of the brain known to be affected by early disease progression. The drug was also investigated in Huntington’s disease, with similar Phase II safety profile and brain metabolic activity effects.
Judging by lack of investor enthusiasm in the company, Vaccinex has found the pressures from already-marketed Alzheimer’s therapies hard to repel. Eisai and Biogen’s Leqembi (lecanemab) and Eli Lilly’s Kisunla (donanemab) dominate the landscape, winning approvals in the US in 2023 and 2024 respectively. Leqembi is forecast to see $5.3bn in global revenues by 2030, with Kisunla expected to generate $1.7bn by the same year, according to GlobalData’s Pharma Intelligence Centre.
GlobalData is the parent company of Pharmaceutical Technology.
Despite its delisting, Vaccinex will also continue to focus on pepinemab in oncology indications. The antibody is evaluated in combination with MSD’s Keytruda in the Phase Ib/II KEYNOTE-B84 study (NCT04815720) in recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer (HNSCC). Vaccinex has also teamed up with Merck KGaA to test pepinemab in combo with Bavencio (avelumab) in a Phase Ib/II study in patients with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC).
