NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) — Transgenomic said today that it has filed an application to list its common shares on the Nasdaq Capital Market, and that it will initiate a 1-for-12 reverse stock split.
The Omaha, Neb.-based personalized medicine firm currently trades on the OTC Market. Its proposed listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market is subject to review by Nasdaq and dependent upon the company meeting all relevant listing criteria. Transgenomic said that it believes it currently meets all of these requirements except the minimum bid price requirement, which it is addressing through the reverse stock split.
Effective Jan. 27, every 12 shares of Transgenomic's issued and outstanding common stock will automatically be combined into one share of issued and outstanding common stock. The common stock will trade for 20 business days under the temporary ticker symbol "TBIOD," with the "D" indicating a reverse split has occurred. After 20 business days, the symbol will revert back to the original symbol.
After the reverse split, the number of shares outstanding will be reduced from approximately 88.3 million to 7.4 million. Stockholders will receive cash in lieu of fractional post-reverse stock split shares, and the stock split will not modify the rights or preferences of the common stock, Transgenomic said.
"This reverse stock split, combined with a possible uplisting to the Nasdaq Capital Market, is the next important step for Transgenomic in becoming a strong molecular diagnostics company," Transgenomic President and CEO Paul Kinnon said in a statement.
Separately, Transgenomic said today that it has entered into a collaboration agreement with Horizon Discovery for validation control in genetic diagnostic test development.
Under the agreement, Transgenomic will transition from the use of plasmid-derived controls to Horizon's Quantitative Molecular Reference Standards for all of its existing and future assays.
More specifically, Cambridge, UK-based Horizon will provide its renewable, genetically defined Quantitative Molecular Reference Standards in both genomic DNA and formalin-fixed paraffin embedded format via its Horizon Diagnostics division. The standards will be chosen from Horizon Diagnostics' existing inventory of more than 300 products, and Horizon's Genesis gene editing platform will also be employed to precisely engineer new lines as needed to support the development of the new tests and kits.
The collaboration "provides strategic opportunities that will significantly benefit our biomarker identification business," Transgenomic's Kinnon said in a statement.