NEW YORK – Mainz Biomed, a German molecular diagnostics company developing tests for the early detection of cancer, said on Monday that its shares have started trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the ticker symbol MYNZ.
The company, whose lead product is a colorectal cancer diagnostic called ColoAlert, last week priced its initial public offering of 2 million ordinary shares at $5 per share for $10 million of gross proceeds to the company.
In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission before the IPO, the company said it intended to use the proceeds to further develop ColoAlert, as well as two other diagnostics called PancAlert, an early-stage pancreatic cancer screening test based on RT-PCR multiplex detection of genetic biomarkers in stool samples, and GenoStick, a platform being developed to detect pathogens molecularly. It will also use the funds for research and development, clinical studies for US Food and Drug Administration approval of ColoAlert, and general corporate purposes such as marketing and sales.
ColoAlert detects colorectal cancer with a sensitivity and specificity that are nearly as high as colonoscopy, the company said. The test combines the fecal immunochemistry test with an analysis of stool cell DNA for specific tumor markers and is designed to detect tumor DNA and colorectal cancer at the earliest stages. The product is CE-IVD marked and is commercially available in a selection of countries in the European Union, the company said.
"Transitioning to the public markets via a Nasdaq listing is an important milestone for the company, as it provides a platform to facilitate growth, and to ultimately execute on our mission to become a leader in developing next-generation early detection diagnostics for multiple cancer indications," Mainz Biomed CEO Guido Baechler said in a statement. "We are excited to ramp up commercial activities across Europe for ColoAlert and look forward to commencing US clinical and regulatory activities for this cost-effective, highly efficacious, and easy-to-use detection test for colorectal cancer."
The firm's shares rose 4 percent to $10.41 in morning trading.