Cytocom closes on merger, begins Nasdaq trading

FORT COLLINS — A merger between Fort Collins-headquartered pharmaceutical company Cytocom Inc. and Cleveland BioLabs Inc. has closed, resulting in the combined company’s stock being listed on the Nasdaq exchange.

The company, operating under the  Cytocom Inc. name with leadership from Cytocom’s previous management team, began trading Wednesday under the ticker symbol CBLI.

Cytocom has drug candidates in the pipeline to treat a number of diseases, including COVID-19, cancer, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, Crohn’s disease and anemia. 

“With the merger completed, we look forward to further advancing our late-stage clinical programs and expanding what we believe to be one of the largest toll-like receptor platforms in the industry,” Cytocom CEO Michael Handley said in a prepared statement. “This merger, coupled with our acquisition of ImQuest Life Sciences and the listing of the new Cytocom common shares on Nasdaq, represents a transformative growth opportunity and fits firmly with our goal of becoming a recognized leader in immune-modulating therapies targeting cancer, ARS, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, and viruses, including COVID-19. Looking forward, we anticipate achieving multiple commercial, regulatory and clinical milestones over the next 12 to 18 months that should enable us to showcase the power of our drug development platform and further generate shareholder value.”

McGuireWoods LLP represented Cleveland BioLabs, and Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP represented Cytocom in the merger.

The company’s stock rose 0.4% on Wednesday. 

Cytocom was first established in a suburb of Orlando, Florida. The company moved into its head offices in the CSU Research Foundation building last December and will maintain its other offices in Maryland and Florida after the merger is complete.

Handley is a Colorado State University graduate who previously was chief executive for local pharmaceutical companies Armis Biopharma Inc. and Aletheia Therapeutics Corp. from 2012 to the fall of 2019.

Cytocom’s main drug of focus is naltrexone, which is approved for use in treating alcoholism and opioid addiction. It’s a similar compound to naloxone, the generic name for Narcan used in treating people with life-threatening opioid overdoses.

The company is studying the potential for low doses of naltrexone to treat Crohn’s disease.

In February, the company submitted an Investigational New Drug Application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its COVID-19 drug candidate CYTO-205, which is thought to help patient immune systems maintain the correct levels of cytokine release when fighting infection or illness.

The company said that the drug candidate has reduced the replication of COVID-19 in lung cells cultured in a lab.

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