Ligand Partner Seelos Therapeutics Becomes a Public Company

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) partner Seelos Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SEEL) announced that it has closed a reverse merger with Apricus Biosciences.

As quoted in the press release:

The combined company changed its name to Seelos Therapeutics, Inc., is publicly traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the trading symbol “SEEL,” and will focus on the development and commercialization of central nervous system (CNS) therapeutics with known mechanisms of action in areas with high unmet medical need. Seelos is led by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Raj Mehra, Ph.D. In conjunction with the reverse merger transaction, Seelos issued common stock and warrants for an aggregate purchase price of $18 million.

In September 2016, Ligand licensed rights to four programs to Seelos, which include:

SLS-006 (formerly known as aplindore): first-in-class, small molecule, partial dopamine agonist for Parkinson’s disease. SLS-006 has successfully completed Phase 2 studies. Seelos intends to meet with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Authority (EMA) to discuss plans for pivotal registration studies to commence in 2019. SLS-006 has shown efficacy in early-stage Parkinson’s disease patients as a monotherapy and as a potential adjunctive therapy in late-stage Parkinson’s disease patients upon co-administration with a low dosage of L-Dopa.

Click here to read the full press release.