Statera Biopharma faces Nasdaq delisting as violations pile up

FORT COLLINS — Immunotherapy producer Statera Biopharma Inc. (Nasdaq: STAB) has until June 20 to produce a plan to get back within Nasdaq compliance. The troubled pharmaceutical company received a letter from the Nasdaq’s Listing Qualifications Department May 18 outlining the process it must undertake to comply with the Nasdaq’s listing rules.

The rule that the Nasdaq says Statera violated — Nasdaq Listing Rule 5250(C)(1) — orders companies listed with the Nasdaq to provide periodic reports on their financial situation. Statera missed the deadlines for its annual report for 2021 and its quarterly report for the period ending March 31.

Statera is without an accounting firm after the departure of Turner, Stone & Co. LLP in April. The firm parted ways with Statera, but did not disclose any reasoning beyond information that came to their attention at the time. Statera cited the firm’s departure as the cause behind its late filing of its 10-Q for the period ending March 31.

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Statera is also in violation of the bid price rule, which mandates that a company’s shares not trade below $1 for a certain period. The release from Statera announcing that it received a letter from the Nasdaq was sent out after the market closed May 23.

Multiple board members have left Statera since the start of the year, leaving the board with a minority of independent members, another Nasdaq rules violation. One board member cited accusations that the company defaulted on a $11.2 million loan as the reason behind his departure.

Statera has been selling off the rights to some of its therapies as all of this has been going on. The biopharmaceutical company sold addiction-therapy drug naltrexone to Immune Therapies, Inc., and cancer treatment Entolimod to Coeptis Therapeutics Inc.

Upon the submission of a plan to get Statera back up to eligibility, the company would have 180 days after the delinquent filing of its annual report to meet all eligibility requirements. That deadline is Oct. 17.

Stock prices for Statera after the release dropped 6.6% by the time the closing bell rang, with shares trading for just under 24 cents.