Akers Biosciences Inc., a South Jersey medical diagnostics company, has completed its previously announced merger with Baltimore-based MyMD Pharmaceuticals.
Shares of the combined company — which will focus on developing immunotherapies — began trading Monday on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the new ticker symbol "MYMD."
The stock opened at $5.43 per share, giving the combined company a market capitalization of just over $41 million.
Akers' stock closed Friday at $2.47 per share. Following the completion of the merger after the market closed on April 16, Akers enacted a one-for-two reverse stock split of its common shares.
Under the terms of the deal, Akers shareholders now own about 20% of the combined company. MyMD shareholders own the other 80%.
With the merger completed, Akers has changed its name to MyMD Pharmaceuticals and moved its headquarters to Baltimore.
For the last two-and-a-half years Akers, based in West Deptford, has been pursuing strategic alternatives such as business combinations as it has struggled with declining sales of its point-of-care diagnostic test kits.
The company, which started the year with four employees, discontinued production and sales of its test kits in 2020 and posted no revenue last year while recording a loss of more than $17.6 million.
Akers’ stockholders approved the MYMD merger at a special meeting held on April 15.
Going forward, the combined company's largest shareholders are Caroline Williams, who has a 14.7% equity stake; and Iroquois Capital Management, which has a 7% equity stake, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
With the merger completed, the company will focus on developing and commercializing MyMD's immunotherapy pipeline assets led by MYMD-1, a new drug candidate under development to treat autoimmune and age-related diseases. The company believes the therapy may have the potential to extend the human lifespan.
Dr. Chris Chapman, president and chief medical officer of MyMD, said the closing of this merger puts the company in a stronger position to advance its pipeline of drug candidates. The company recently announced plans for mid-stage testing of MYMD-1.
MyMD Pharmaceutical's assets also include, Supera-CBD, a drug platform based on a patent-protected, synthetic derivative of cannabidiol that is being studies as a potential treatment for anxiety, chronic pain, and seizures.
Former Akers CEO Chris Schreiber is now executive officer of the Supera business line.
