NeOnc Technologies plans to go public through direct listing

NeOnc Technologies Holdings Inc., a privately held clinical-stage biotechnology company that develops therapies to improve the treatment of brain tumors and central nervous system diseases, is preparing to become a public entity. After withdrawing its initial plan to launch an IPO about six months ago, the company has chosen direct listing to go public.

Direct Listing

Last week, NeOnc submitted papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission to initiate a direct listing of its shares on the Nasdaq Stock Market. It has applied to be listed under the symbol NTHI. The management is yet to disclose a reference price and the timing of the listing.

The company will not receive any proceeds from the offering, as the shares are to be sold by existing shareholders. Registered shareholders are expected to sell up to 2.1 million shares. While there are no underwriters to manage the deal, RBW Capital Partners will serve as financial advisor. The firm has agreements with investors to sell 624,999 shares of its common stock at the private placement price of $16.00 per share, for around $10 million.

NeOnc, headquartered in Westlake Village, is a life science company engaged in developing central nervous system therapeutics. Founded in 2008, the drugmaker is led by CEO Dr. Thomas Chen. It is focused on developing procedures to effectively deliver drugs across the blood-brain barrier, a major obstacle in treating brain tumors.

Advanced clinical trials are currently progressing on NEO100, one of NeOnc’s two lead candidates, for treating recurrent malignant glioma and malignant skull-based meningioma. The other candidate is NEO212, which is undergoing trial for the treatment of patients with primary and secondary brain tumors.

Key Numbers

In the nine months ended September 2024, NeOnc generated revenues of $63,000, compared to $70,462 in the corresponding period of the prior year. The company incurred a loss of $9.65 million or $0.56 per share in that period, compared to a loss of $8.77 million or $0.62 per share a year earlier.