The Daily Biotech Pulse: TransEnterix's Positive Pre-Announcement, Merit Medical Opens Wallet, GW Pharma To Offer ADS Shares

Here's a roundup of top developments in the biotech space over the last 24 hours.

Scaling the Peaks

(Biotech stocks hitting 52-week highs on Oct. 1)

• Abbott Laboratories ABT
• AstraZeneca plc AZN
• Becton Dickinson and Co BDX
• Haemonetics Corporation HAE
• Merck & Co., Inc. MRK
• Nuvectra Corp NVTR
• Orthopediatrics Corp KIDS
• Pfizer Inc. PFE
• ResMed Inc. RMD

Down In The Dumps

(Biotech stocks hitting 52-week lows on Oct. 1)

• Aerpio Pharmaceuticals Inc ARPO
• Arsanis Inc ASNS
• Avrobio Inc AVRO
• CELYAD SA/ADR CYAD
• Genprex Inc GNPX
• Gritstone Oncology, Inc. GRTS
• Insmed Incorporated INSM
• La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company LJPC
• NewLink Genetics Corp NLNK
• Novelion Therapeutics Inc NVLN
• OptiNose Inc OPTN
• RXi Pharmaceuticals Corp RXII
• Sonoma Pharmaceuticals Inc SNOA

Stocks In Focus

Acasti To Issue Shares Instead Of Interest Due On Convertible Debentures

Acasti Pharma Inc ACST announced it has opted to issue common shares to the holders of its outstanding convertible debentures in lieu of interest payable. In connection with this, the company has elected to issue an aggregate 23,723 common shares to the debenture holders.

The stock fell 5.73 percent to $1.48 in after-hours trading.

See Also: Attention Biotech Investors: Mark Your Calendar For These October PDUFA Dates

TransEnterix Pre-Announces Positive Q3 Revenues

Transenterix Inc TRXC issued preliminary fourth-quarter results, which showed revenues of about $5.4 million, slightly ahead of the $5.39 million consensus estimate. The company reported sales of four Senhance systems. As of Sept. 30, the company had unaudited cash and cash equivalents of about $82 million.

The stock rose 2.84 percent to $5.80 in after-hours trading.

GW Pharma To Offer ADSs

GW Pharmaceuticals PLC- ADR GWPH announced plans to sell $300 million worth of ADS shares, representing ordinary shares of the company on the Nasdaq in an underwritten U.S. public offering. The company said the price of the offering hasn't yet been determined.

The stock slipped 1.35 percent to $165 in after-hours trading.

Chiasma Completes Enrollment In Late-stage Trial of Acromegaly Trearment

Chiasma Inc CHMA said it has completed enrollment of its international Phase 3 clinical trial, dubbed as CHIASMA OPTIMAL, which is being conducted under a Special Protocol Assessment agreement with the FDA to support potential regulatory approval for its pipeline candidate octreotide, conditionally trade-named Mycapssa, for the maintenance therapy of adult patients with acromegaly.

The company said it exceeded the target enrollment of 50 patients in the trial. It expects to report topline results from the study in Sept. 2019.

The stock moved down 1.99 percent to $3.45 in after-hours trading.

Merit Medical To Buy Cianna Medical For Up To $200M

Merit Medical Systems, Inc. MMSI announced a deal to buy Cianna Medical by paying $135 million in upfront payment, with potential earn-out payments of an additional $15 million for achievement of supply chain and scalability metrics, and up to an additional $50 million for achievement of sales milestones.

If consummated, the transaction is likely to be accretive to Merit's non-GAAP earnings in the range of 8-13 cents per share and non-GAAP gross margin in the range of 55-130 basis points, while also adding $50 million to $56 million in revenues.

"Cianna Medical is a leader in wire-free breast localization and has been focused on breast conservation for 11 years," Merit Medical said.