Privately held Emmaus Life Sciences Inc., a Torrance-based company with a major therapy under development for treatment of sickle cell disease, plans to become a publicly traded company through a reverse merger with a data analytics company in Orange County.
The company, MYnd Analytics Inc., is a Mission Viejo-based predictive analytics outfit aimed at improving the delivery of mental health services. Shareholders with MYnd Analytics and Emmaus Life Sciences approved the deal on July 10.
As part of the combination, MYnd will spin off its current business, assets and liabilities into Telymynd Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary that will be headquartered in Mission Viejo. It will have no business relationship with Emmaus other than Emmaus buying the Mynd Analytics shell company to become publicly traded.
Emmaus will begin trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market July 18 under the symbol EMMA.
Emmaus’s management team will be led by Yutaka Niihara, the company’s current chief executive and chairman, and other incumbent executive officers.
Shares of Mynd, which became publicly traded on July 14, 2017, closed at $1.42 on July 11.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Emmaus disclosed revenues of $14.5 million in 2018, with a forecast of $45.2 million in revenues this year, growing to a projected $246.6 million by 2023.
Emmaus also reported losses of $33.4 million in 2017 and $57.9 million in 2018. It forecasts earnings before income taxes and other items of $1.9 million this year, growing to $103.6 million by 2023.
As of March 31, 2019, Emmaus had a deficit of $170.9 million and $15.3 million in cash.
The company wrote in its securities filing that its “future capital requirements are substantial” and may increase beyond current expectations.
The company’s main product is Endari, an oral therapy for sickle cell anemia that was approved for use by patients age 5 and older by the Food and Drug Administration in 2017. Endari is the first approved pediatric treatment for sickle cell disease and the first new treatment for adults in almost 20 years.
New York City-based A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners served as financial adviser in connection with this transaction.
Finance reporter Pat Maio can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 556-8329.
