Boston biotech Albireo Pharma Inc. went public Thursday through a reverse merger in which it acquired the stock listing of a Connecticut company, in a deal that will leave Albireo with about $30 million to develop a treatment for a pediatric liver disease.
Albireo, which in 2008 was spun out of British drug giant AstraZeneca PLC, will begin trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange Friday morning under the stock ticker ALBO.
The stock swap with Danbury-based Biodel Inc. gave Albireo a relatively cheap way to access the public markets rather than complete an initial public offering, a spokesman said.
