Baltimore pharmaceutical company to go public on Nasdaq; Synthetic cannabinoid drug submitted for FDA approval

"A Baltimore cannabis pharmaceuticals company has filed to go public on the Nasdaq through an initial public offering on the heels of an expanding market for the drug.

MIRA Pharmaceuticals submitted a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 21, announcing its plan to go public on the Nasdaq under the symbol MIRA. The proceeds from the initial public offering will fund the clinical studies necessary for MIRA's synthetic cannabis drug to receive approval from the Food and Drug Administration, the filing said.

MIRA CEO Erez Aminov said Wednesday that he believes the company will begin trading on the Nasdaq by Aug. 3.

"Listing on the second largest stock exchange in the world is a path to secure the necessary financial resources for further development towards successfully commercializing our therapy," Aminov said.

The firm claims its namesake drug, MIRA1a, replicates the pain killing and anti-anxiety effects of the two main compounds in cannabis, THC and CBD, without the side effects of the drug such as increased appetite or paranoia. The company — headquartered at Johns Hopkins Science at Technology Park in East Baltimore — has recently submitted the drug for FDA approval, with the first application centering on investigating the drug's impact on elderly people suffering from cognitive decline associated with early stage dementia.

MIRA said in the IPO filing that it needs to raise money because it has no revenue and has incurred losses because of the high costs of the drug development process. The company has $1,349 of cash on hand and $397,580 of total assets, according to the filing as of March 2023. The company incurred a net loss of $7 million in 2022.

If the Nasdaq approves of the IPO, the company is estimated to receive $7.13 million of net proceeds, giving it enough runway to survive until the fourth quarter of 2024, according to the SEC filing. MIRA has had some success in the venture capital markets, raising $6.5 million in a series A round in 2022, according to SEC filings and an interview with former CEO Jude Uzonwanne.

Since MIRA1a, the company's main cannabis drug, is not THC, but an entirely different chemical compound, it is not considered illegal by the federal government. The classification as a standard prescription drug means that it would be legal throughout the United States regardless of local cannabis regulations and could be distributed across state lines, unlike cannabis.

"The medical community has grown increasingly interested in alternative, legal, prescribed, and safer products. A number of patients seek more effective treatments with fewer of the side effects associated with cannabis-based products, specifically for anxiety and pain," Aminov said.

Many of MIRA's executives already have experience working with publicly traded drug development companies. Chief Science Officer Adam Kaplan and executive chairman Chris Chapman have positions at MyMD Pharmaceuticals, a Baltimore biotechnology company traded on the Nasdaq. MIRA will offer 1.2 million shares of common stock, through its underwriter, at $7 a share to the public if the Nasdaq approves of the IPO. Kingswood Investments, a division of the London-based Kingswood Group, is the underwriter for the offering. An underwriter serves as the intermediary between the company issuing shares in an IPO and the investors.

The registration form with the SEC states that the company raised $3.2 million in 2022. The company is small compared to what many people may expect from publicly traded companies, with one full-time employee and five part-time employees as of July 2023.

The IPO of the cannabis pharmaceutical company comes just after the recreational market for cannabis launched in Maryland, increasing interest in the drug. The increased visibility of cannabis has not spilled over to cannabis-derived pharmaceuticals since many growers are focusing more on consumers who want high THC content.

The FDA has approved four cannabis-based pharmaceuticals, one cannabis-derived product and three synthetic cannabis products. There are other Maryland companies trying to use cannabis to create prescription drugs. Cumberland's RS BioTherapeutics raised a $3 million funding round to produce a COPD medication based on cannabis."