Anti-infectives company Melinta Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:MLNT) raised $110 million through the sale of 22 million shares at $5 in a follow-on underwritten by J.P. Morgan, Jefferies and Cantor Fitzgerald. The price is a 32% discount to Melinta's closing price of $7.30 on Monday, when the company proposed after market hours to raise $75 million.
Melinta slipped 11% to $6.50 on Tuesday. It was down $0.83 (13%) to $5.40 in afternoon trading Thursday, and has lost $1.90 (26%) since Monday's close.
In February, the company launched Baxdela delafloxacin to treat acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSIs). FDA approved the broad-spectrum fluoroquinolone antibiotic last year.
Melinta became a publicly traded company in November 2017 via a reverse merger with Cempra Inc. In January, it completed the acquisition of the infectious disease business of The Medicines Co. (NASDAQ:MDCO), giving it marketed antibiotics Vabomere meropenem/vaborbactam, Orbactiv oritavancin and Minocin IV minocycline. The purchase price included $55 million in Melinta stock, $165 million in cash and $50 million in future payments (see BioCentury Extra, Nov. 29, 2017).
The company has received $82.2 million in equity investments, including $42.2 million from Deerfield Management, plus $147.8 million in debt funding from Deerfield in connection with the Medicines Co. deal.
Melinta had 31.4 million shares outstanding as of May 2. Its market cap is about $170 million.