Trading in Acorda’s stock was suspended on 12 April. Image credit: Shutterstock/NPS_87.
Acorda Therapeutics has been delisted from the Nasdaq Stock Market as a result of non-compliance with Nasdaq’s listing rules.
Nasdaq listing rules stipulate that companies maintain stockholders’ equity of at least $10m. As Acorda can no longer meet this requirement due to the company’s recent bankruptcy filing earlier this month, trading in the company’s common stock was suspended on 12 April, with Acorda reporting the delisting on 15 April.
The absence on Nasdaq caps the company’s journey to the end of the twilight zone. The biotech’s closure date is set for 15 June, leaving the remaining 97 employees at its site in New York without a job, as per a labour notice filing.
According to GlobalData’s Pharma Intelligence Centre, Fampyra used to see sales of more than $500m in 2017. However, after losing exclusivity to generics in 2018, Inbrija and Fampyra sales dropped to $31m and $73m respectively in 2023.
Acorda struggled to balance the books as sales of its drugs weakened. Amid poor drug sales, Biogen, which had a 2009 licence agreement for Fampyra outside the US, exercised an option to the rights to Acorda earlier this year. Acorda responded to financial difficulty by laying off much of its workforce but its share values continued to dive, with a bankruptcy filing occurring in April 2024.
Merz Therapeutics, known for its Botox rival Xeomin (incobotulinumtoxinA), swooped in a day later to buy Acorda’s assets, including Inbrija and Ampyra. Merz acted as a “stalking horse” bidder, a type of bid used in cases involving bankrupt companies. As it stands, MerzMerz is set to acquire the therapies for $185m, though this could increase if another bidder comes in at a higher price. The sale process is expected to end in June 2024.