Epirus Biopharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:EPRS) shares rose 6.95% to $0.280 on Monday as investors priced in the potential impact of the company’s leadership reshuffle. The company has a market cap of $6.96 million at 26.18 million shares outstanding. Share prices have been trading in a 52-week range of $0.20 to $8.75.
Epirus Biopharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company that focuses on biosimilars or biologic drugs. It focuses on the development and commercialization of biosimilar monoclonal antibodies for emerging markets, with its lead products BOW015, BOW050, BOW070, BOW090, BOW100, and BOW080.
Share prices have been down from their April highs due to a shakeup in the company’s leadership and focus. Around that time, Epirus Biopharmaceuticals announced that its CEO would be stepping down and that they will solely develop biosimilar rare disease indications. This meant a suspension of the then-lead program, BOW015, and delayed the chance of commercialization for any of its drugs by at least two years.
There was no reason provided as to why its former CEO Amit Munshi suddenly stepped down back then but investors speculated that the departure was not amicable and likely related to the company’s shift in focus. Epirus Biopharmaceuticals is now led by Michael Wyland, who is working on trimming costs and streamlining the company’s operations towards a focused target of approval for its lead product candidates, which could give the share a boost once these push through.
It’s also worth noting that the company is burning cash at this point, as developmental stage biopharmaceutical companies typically spend a lot on research and development before getting any stable revenues upon product approval. Quarterly filings show that the company is spending around $10 million each quarter on R&D and around $5 million for other administrative and general costs. Revenues for the first quarter came in at only $800K so the company may need to pursue commercialization quick.
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