Aside from offering to acquire all remaining shares of Neuphoria, existing investor Lynx1 Master Fund also announced its plan to nominate directors in the biotech’s upcoming board elections.
Neuphoria Therapeutics on Tuesday initiated a strategic review, looking for potential alternatives to keep its pipeline going—including a potential takeover from an existing investor. The biotech is quick to caution, however, that this process does not guarantee that any action will be taken.
This strategic initiative comes after Neuphoria suffered a late-stage stumble last month for its social anxiety disorder drug. In the Phase III AFFIRM-1 study, the small-molecule BNC210 failed to significantly improve self-reported measures of distress in patients undergoing a public speaking challenge. BNC210 also failed key secondary endpoints. In the wake of this failure, Neuphoria discontinued the drug’s development in social anxiety disorder.
Neuphoria is considering a host of alternatives for its business, including partnerships, joint ventures, licensing deals and potential mergers or acquisitions, according to a Tuesday news release. In connection with this last option, the biotech also revealed that it has received an unsolicited offer from one investor, Lynx1 Master Fund LP, to take over the company for $5.20 per share in cash.
Lynx1, managed by hedgefund Lynx1 Capital Management, is also planning to nominate “certain individuals” to serve as Neuphoria’s directors in the upcoming board elections. The biotech’s annual meeting of stockholders is scheduled for Dec. 12.
Neuphoria has enlisted H.C. Wainwright as a financial advisor for the strategic review. The biotech’s board is currently reviewing Lynx1’s offer but has yet to decide on the matter, and has not specified a timeline for its strategic review. Lynx1 Capital Management has held positions in Merus, Protagonist Therapeutics and other biotechs.
Despite the late-stage fail last month, BNC210 remains Neuphoria’s lead asset. The drug is an antinicotinic molecule that works by targeting a specific subset of acetylcholine receptors to elicit stress-lowering and antidepressant effects. Neuphoria continues to study BNC210 for post-traumatic stress disorder, for which a mid-stage readout in December last year showed symptom improvements at 12 weeks, with benefits seen as early as four weeks.
The biotech is also considering future development opportunities for BNC210, including for panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder.
BNC210 was originally developed by Bionomics, which Neuphoria acquired in 2024.
