Covid: 19 treatment developer Humanigen files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Humanigen

04/01/2024 23:43

Jan 4 (Reuters) - Drug developer Humanigen  HGEN.PK  has
filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to a court
filing, after struggling to get regulatory approval for its
COVID-19 treatment.
    The Burlingame, California-based company, once controlled by
convicted pharma executive Martin Shkreli, listed assets worth
$521,000 and total debt of $44.1 million, as per the Jan.3
filing.
    Humanigen had pinned its hopes on its COVID-19 drug,
lenzilumab, for which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
declined emergency use authorization in 2021.
    The company had inked several contracts to manufacture the
antibody medicine, but the U.S. health regulator said it was
unable to conclude that the known and potential benefits of
lenzilumab outweigh the known and potential risks of its use as
a treatment for COVID-19.
    Last July, Humanigen had flagged that it anticipated it
would not be able to continue as a going concern and was
exploring all restructuring options, which may include
commencing a bankruptcy or other insolvency proceedings.
    

 (Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj
Kalluvila)
 ((Sriparna.Roy@thomsonreuters.com;))