Veraxa says delayed US listing is back on track

Swiss biotech Veraxa's listing on the Nasdaq, delayed by the record 43-day US government shutdown, is proceeding again and should now be completed in the first quarter of next year.

That is according to Xlife Sciences, which incubated and holds a 19.9% stake in the Zurich-based start-up, which is developing antibody, antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), and bispecific T-cell engager (TCE) candidates for cancer.

The federal government shutdown meant that the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), which oversees listing processes in the US, was unable to respond to Veraxa's request in the summer to merge with special purchase acquisition company (SPAC) Voyager as a route to a Nasdaq listing.

The SEC's response came after the shutdown ended and included a request for additional information, which was filed as an amendment today.

"We are pleased to see the SEC process advancing swiftly despite the prolonged shutdown," said XLife chief executive Oliver Baumann. "We remain confident in the transaction timeline and in Veraxa's trajectory toward becoming a Nasdaq-listed leader in next-generation oncology therapeutics." Previously, the merger was expected to close before the end of the year.

Veraxa's lead drug candidate is an anti-FLT3 antibody in early-stage clinical testing for haematological cancers, including acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), which it acquired from the acquisition of Germany's Synimmune in 2024.

However, its long-term focus is a platform, called BiTAC, which uses a novel antibody design to make therapies safer for patients. BiTACs consist of two complementary antibody precursors, which only form the therapeutically active molecule when the respective targets are in proximity on the cancer cells, reducing the risk of off-target side effects.

It currently has three BiTAC programmes in development, including two focused on lung and pancreatic cancer, while a third is targeting ovarian and breast cancer.

Since announcing its intention to merge with Voyager in July, Veraxa has also formed an alliance with Germany's Secarna Pharma to add antibody-oligonucleotide conjugates (AOCs) to its capabilities.

Biotech companies' use of the SPAC route to public listing through mergers with so-called 'blank cheque' companies rose to prominence in recent years as an alternative to the conventional initial public offering (IPO) route. It can be a quicker, simpler, and cheaper process, with less scrutiny of a company's finances, liabilities, and operational processes before listing.

If the merger completes, Veraxa intends to trade on the Nasdaq under the VERX symbol.