Iterum Therapeutics, a Nasdaq-listed drugmaker with an approved treatment for urinary tract infections (UTIs), secured the appointment of provisional liquidators by the High Court in Dublin after running out of cash.
The Dublin-based business said in a statement on Friday that the move came after it was unable to raise new equity after shareholders rejected proposals at a recent extraordinary general meeting to allow the board to issue new stock.
Shares in the company plunged more than 75 per cent in early trading to 0.043 cents in New York.
The court appointed Damien Murran and Jennifer McMahon, both from Teneo Restructuring (Ireland), as joint provisional liquidators. A hearing to confirm them as liquidators will take place on April 13th.
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Founded in 2015, Iterum floated on the Nasdaq in May 2018. It received authorisation in 2024 from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Orlynvah, a drug for the treatment of a form of uncomplicated urinary tract infections in adult women who have limited or no alternative oral antibacterial treatment options.
The company – led by founder Corey Fishman, an industry veteran – said that efforts to sell rights to its drug Orlynvah fell through after talks with two potential buyers did not yield a definitive deal in time, while ongoing commercialisation costs weighed against modest sales. The drug brought in $390,000 (€338,169) following its commercial launch in the third quarter of last year.
“The board determined that continuing to pursue either [Orlynvah sale] transaction was not in the best interests of the company’s creditors and shareholders and the company has determined that there are no further reasonable avenues available at this time for an alternative strategic transaction outside the context of a liquidation,” it said in the statement.
Fishman and chief financial officer Judith Matthews resigned from their positions immediately after filing the wind-up petition.
Fishman has more than three decades of pharmaceutical industry experience. Prior to setting up Iterum, he served as chief financial and chief operating officer of a Chicago-based antibiotics developer Durata Therapeutics, which was acquired by pharmaceuticals group Actavis for $675 million.
“It is likely that the joint provisional liquidators may decide to manage a withdrawal of Orylnvah from the US commercial market,” Iterum said. “Any such withdrawal would be done in accordance with US Food and Drug Administration procedures and in consultation with the relevant third-party service providers.”
It is intended that Murran and McMahon will oversee a wind down of the company’s other subsidiaries, Iterum Therapeutics US Holding Limited, Iterum Therapeutics US Limited and Iterum Therapeutics Bermuda Limited, it said.
