Esperion Theraputics executives Tim Mayleben and Roger Newton rang the bell to open trading on the Nasdaq exchange Wednesday morning.
Esperion returned to the exchange June 26 through a second “initial” public offering. Pfizer purchased the original Esperion for $1.3 billion in 2000.
Esperion President and CEO Tim Mayleben (left) and Chief Science Officer Roger Newton in the company's labs at the Michigan Life Science and Innovation Center.
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com file photo
Nasdaq-listed companies are often invited to ring an opening or closing bell when they have product launches, earning reports, initial public offerings or other newsworthy developments. Esperion is listed on the exchange under the letters ESPR. As of Wednesday morning, the company was trading at $17.31 per share, up from its initial offering price of $14.50.
The opening bell ceremonies at Nasdaq began at roughly 9:15 a.m. according to the exchange’s website. The ringing can be viewed on Nasdaq’s webcam and on a number of business-focused television networks.
According to Nasdaq’s website, the ringing is choreographed by a professional event planner, and can include remarks from a company’s CEO or chairman lasting no longer than two minutes.
Since its re-founding, Esperion has focused on the development of ETC-1002, a drug that could lower “bad” LDL cholesterol without the use of statins which can cause negative reactions in some patients. The company closed a $33 million funding round in April that brought the total amount of capital invested in the company to just more than $57 million.
According to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Esperion had a $70 million goal for the IPO in June. In a release published July 11, the company said that net proceeds from the offering are expected to be $72.8 million.
Mayleben previously told AnnArbor.com that the drug being developed by the company, which is housed at the Michigan Life Science and Innovation Center in Plymouth Township, is undergoing the second round of “phase two” clinical tests. Most drugs go through three phases of testing before the results are submitted to the Food and Drug Administration. Mayleben said he does not expect the company to submit ETC-1002 to the FDA for approval for at least another three years.
Esperion Theraputics was unable to comment for this story because the company is in the midst of an SEC-mandated 25 day quiet period following its initial public offering. During the three and a half weeks following and IPO, companies are not allowed to engage in any activities that could be perceived as promotional, including speaking with the press.
Ben Freed covers business for AnnArbor.com. You can sign up here to receive Business Review updates every week. Get in touch with Ben at 734-623-2528 or email him at benfreed@annarbor.com. Follow him on twitter @BFreedinA2