Cognition Therapeutics, Cel-Sci Sell Shares as Celcuity Pushes Breast-Cancer NDA

Three small-cap biotechnology companies moved to tap equity markets and advance clinical programs late Wednesday. Cognition Therapeutics said it entered a $30 million registered direct offering of common stock to institutional investors. Pricing terms were not disclosed, and the Alzheimer’s-focused drug developer said proceeds will bolster working capital and research. Cancer-immunotherapy firm CEL-SCI separately priced a best-efforts public offering of roughly 1.1 million shares at $9 each, targeting gross proceeds of about $10 million. The sale, expected to close on Aug. 29 subject to customary conditions, will fund continued development of its investigational Multikine therapy as well as general corporate purposes, the company said. In regulatory news, Celcuity announced plans to begin a rolling New Drug Application for gedatolisib in hormone-receptor-positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer under the FDA’s Real-Time Oncology Review program. The submission will focus on patients with PIK3CA wild-type tumors. Celcuity’s stock rose roughly 13% in after-hours trading following the disclosure.