Scottish cell therapy company TC BioPharm, once tipped to be Scotland’s first $1 billion company quoted on the Nasdaq stock exchange, has called in administrators.
Michael Magnay and Rob Croxen of Alvarez & Marsal are looking to sell the business and assets of the Motherwell-based business.
TC BioPharm has a small team of skilled employees, including top scientists, and no immediate redundancies are being made while the joint administrators seek a rapid sale.
Michael Magnay, joint administrator, who was called in on 2 October, said: “TC BioPharm is a pioneering, clinical-stage cell therapy company with an experienced and highly skilled team.
“As joint administrators, our priority is to run a sale process at pace, and we encourage any parties interested in acquiring the business and assets, which include the intellectual property, to reach out to us as soon as possible.”
The company was set up by entrepreneur Angela Scott in Edinburgh in February 2014 and it generated an eightfold return for its angel investors after its parent company TC BioPharm Holdings (TBCH) was listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange in New York in 2022.
It floated with a valuation of $119.25m and raised $17.5m to finance clinical trials. The IPO meant Investing Women Angels (IWA) became the first Scottish angel group to achieve a Nasdaq exit.
At the time of the exit, Jackie Waring, founder of IWA, said: “ We believed in this world-class team from day one and knew they could take this company to the highest level. We’re delighted to be part of this journey.”
Ms Scott began her career with the Imperial Cancer Research Fund and then worked with PPL Therapeutics, which was behind Dolly the sheep, the breakthrough development in cloning.
TC BioPharm was expected to continue in development phase, without revenue generation, for
several years but, as anticipated, and in line wit similar biotech companies, it incurred considerable expenditures in research and development activities and in conducting clinical trials.
Funding came either directly through investment from its shareholders, prior to the incorporation of its parent company and later rom advances made to it by TCBH from funds that TCBH raised from its Nasdaq listing; and from grants and receipts from partners under collaborative co-development agreements. Since its incorporation the group has raised approximately £100 million.
However, concerns grew over its continuation as a going concern. Ms Scott resigned as a director in 2023 and in May this year it was delisted from Nasdaq. On 16 July the group had just £1.1 million of cash on hand of £1.1 million.
A Companies House filing said that “unless TCBH is able to secure alternative sources of capital, which it is currently exploring, it will not be able to continue to finance or support the company.
“The ongoing viability of the company is therefore dependent upon… TCBH being able to raise
additional capital through sources other than its previous Nasdaq listing to enable it to continue to support the company; or the possible sale by TCBH of the company to a new shareholder that would support the Company, and/ or (c) the company being able to raise adequate capital itself, including by way of asset sales or collaborative ventures.”
EDINBURGH, Scotland, March 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — TC BioPharm (Holdings) PLC (“TC BioPharm” or the “Company”), (NASDAQ: TCBP) a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing platform allogeneic gamma-delta T cell therapies for cancer and other indications, today announced that on March 20, 2025, it received notice that the Nasdaq Hearings Panel had determined to delist the Company’s securities from The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) due to the Company’s failure to comply with Rule 5550(a)(2) of Nasdaq’s Listing Rules. The Rule requires listed securities to maintain a minimum bid price of $1.00 per share. Management is currently working on an appeal with Nasdaq.
The Company’s securities will be suspended for trading on Nasdaq effective at the opening of trading on Monday, March 24, 2025. The Company expects its American Depositary Shares to be eligible to trade on the OTC Markets effective with the opening of trading on Monday, March 24, 2025. This delisting and transition to the OTC Markets will not change the Company’s obligation to file annual reports and certain other reports with the SEC under the applicable federal securities laws. The Company cautions the reader to read this press release in its entirety and refer to the Company’s press releases and reports filed with the SEC, including the risks and uncertainties discussed therein, before making any investment decision.
TC BioPharm remains fully committed to advancing its innovative research, clinical trials, and therapeutic development initiatives.
About TC BioPharm (Holdings) PLC
TC BioPharm is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing gamma-delta T-cell therapies for cancer treatment with human efficacy data in acute myeloid leukemia. Gamma-delta T cells are naturally occurring immune cells that embody properties of both the innate and adaptive immune systems and can intrinsically differentiate between healthy and diseased tissue.
TC BioPharm is the leader in developing gamma-delta T cell therapies and the first company to conduct phase II/pivotal clinical studies in oncology. The Company is conducting two investigator-initiated clinical trials for its unmodified gamma-delta T cell product line – Phase 2b/3 pivotal trial in the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia using the Company’s proprietary allogeneic CryoTC technology to provide frozen product to clinics worldwide.
#BioPharms #fall #Nasdaq #administration #Daily #Business