James Clark and David Pike from Interpath Advisory have been appointed joint administrators to 4D Pharma plc.
Headquartered in Leeds and listed on both AIM and NASDAQ, the pharmaceutical company focusses on the development of Live Biotherapeutics, an innovative and emerging class of drugs, defined by the FDA as biological products that contain a live organism, such as a bacterium, that is applicable to the prevention, treatment or cure of a disease.
The company has six clinical programs underway, including therapeutic trials for conditions including cancer, asthma and Parkinson’s Disease.
The company has a number of subsidiaries which are currently not subject to an insolvency process, with facilities based in Scotland, Ireland, Spain, and the US.
The company had recently embarked on a fundraising exercise to help fuel the next stage of its growth. However, with significant uncertainty currently affecting the global capital markets, the company was ultimately unable to progress the fundraise sufficiently quickly to deliver the required funding into the business.
Against this backdrop, and with the company requiring significant cash to fund day-to-day trading, the secured lender found it necessary to take action to protect its collateral, and subsequently sought the appointment of joint administrators.
James Clark, Managing Director at Interpath Advisory and joint administrator, said: “Since its inception, 4D Pharma has been at the forefront of innovation around the development and use of live biotherapeutic products, but unfortunately has been impacted by the growing uncertainty gripping the capital markets.
“Our intention is to try to stabilise the company in the immediate term whilst we assess options for the business. We would encourage any parties interested in acquiring the business to contact us at the earliest opportunity. At this stage, 4D Pharma plc’s subsidiaries remain outside of an insolvency process and continue to trade.”
