Alterity wins FDA fast-track for ATH434 – but with 9B shares on issue, impact diluted

Nanocap Alterity Therapeutics (ASX:ATH), dual-listed on both the ASX and the NASDAQ, is the latest Aussie biotech to win an FDA tick with its drug treating Multiple System Atrophy, ATH434, awarded fast-track status in the US FDA ecosystem.

However, shares hadn’t responded too wildly on Monday morning – according to Cboe live pricing data at 10.45am AEST, shares were up 25% to a single cent per share on $460K worth of shares trading hands.

And herein lies the problem for Alterity: that $460K worth of shares trading hands, expressed as individual ordinary shares, means over 47.7M shares have traded hands.

That’s because Alterity, which opened on Monday a penny stock, has an eye-watering ~9 billion shares on issue. Talk about want for a consolidation.

Regardless, at least some investors were watching the news around ATH434 on Monday – no doubt informed by the run of good luck many ASX-listed biotech stocks have been clocking in recent history.

Multiple companies in that index happen to come to maturity in 2025 (at least, as long as taking applications to the TGA and FDA is concerned.) At any rate, investors will also be looking to the company’s NASDAQ performance overnight.

Regardless, Alterity was unsurprisingly bullish on Monday.

“Receiving the FDA’s Fast Track Designation for ATH434, alongside the Orphan Drug Designation we have already received, underscores the promise of this novel agent to address the urgent need for a disease modifying therapy for individuals with MSA,” ATH CEO Dr. David Stamler said.

ATH last traded at 9cps.

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