UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
Form 6-K
Report of Foreign Private Issuer
Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16
under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
For the month of: August 2023
Commission file number: 001-36288
Akari Therapeutics, Plc
(Translation of registrant’s name into English)
75/76 Wimpole Street
London W1G 9RT
United Kingdom
(Address of principal executive offices)
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
Form 20-F x Form 40-F ¨
On August 15, 2023, Akari Therapeutics, Plc, a public company with limited liability incorporated under the laws of England and Wales (the “Company”), issued a press release announcing that, to regain compliance with the Nasdaq minimum bid price requirement, the Company will change the ratio of its American Depositary Shares (“ADSs”) to ordinary shares from one ADS representing 100 ordinary shares to a new ratio of one ADS representing 2,000 ordinary shares. The ratio change is expected to be effective on August 17, 2023. A copy of such press release is furnished as Exhibit 99.1 to this Report on Form 6-K and incorporated herein by reference.
The information contained in this report is hereby incorporated by reference into all effective registration statements filed by the Company under the Securities Act of 1933.
| Exhibit No. | |
| 99.1 | Press Release issued by Akari Therapeutics, Plc on August 15, 2023. |
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
| Akari Therapeutics, Plc | ||
| (Registrant) | ||
| By: | /s/ Rachelle Jacques | |
| Name: | Rachelle Jacques | |
| Title: | President and Chief Executive Officer | |
Date: August 15, 2023
Exhibit 99.1
Akari Therapeutics, Plc Announces ADS Ratio Change
NEW YORK and LONDON, August 15, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – Akari Therapeutics, Plc (Nasdaq: AKTX), a late-stage biotechnology company developing advanced therapies for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, today announced that Akari will change the ratio of its American Depositary Shares (ADSs) to ordinary shares from one ADS representing one hundred ordinary shares to a new ratio of one ADS representing two thousand ordinary shares. The ratio change is expected to be effective on August 17, 2023.
The ratio change is intended to enable Akari to regain compliance with the Nasdaq minimum bid price requirement. On the effective date, each ADS holder will be required to exchange every twenty ADSs for one new ADS. Deutsche Bank, the depositary bank, will arrange for the exchange of the current ADSs for the new ADSs. There is no change to Akari’s underlying ordinary shares, and Akari’s ADSs will continue to trade on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol AKTX.
No fractional new ADSs will be issued in connection with the change in the ADS ratio. Instead, fractional entitlements to new ADSs will be aggregated and sold and the net cash proceeds from the sale of the fractional ADS entitlements (after deduction of fees, taxes and expenses) will be distributed to the applicable ADS holders by Deutsche Bank.
Akari can give no assurances of the performance of the ADS price following the ratio change.
About Akari Therapeutics
Akari Therapeutics, plc (Nasdaq: AKTX) is a biotechnology company developing advanced therapies for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Akari’s lead asset, investigational nomacopan, is a bispecific recombinant inhibitor of complement C5 activation and leukotriene B4 (LTB4) activity. Akari’s pipeline includes a Phase 3 clinical trial program investigating nomacopan for severe pediatric hematopoietic stem cell transplant-related thrombotic microangiopathy (HSCT-TMA). Akari has been granted Orphan Drug, Fast Track and Rare Pediatric Disease designations from the FDA for nomacopan for the treatment of pediatric HSCT-TMA and orphan drug designation from the European Commission for treatment in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Akari’s pipeline also includes a clinical program developing nomacopan for adult HSCT-TMA and pre-clinical research of long-acting PAS-nomacopan in geographic atrophy (GA). For more information about Akari, please visit akaritx.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements reflect our current views about our plans, intentions, expectations, strategies, and prospects, which are based on the information currently available to us and on assumptions we have made. Although we believe that our plans, intentions, expectations, strategies, and prospects as reflected in or suggested by those forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that the plans, intentions, expectations, or strategies will be attained or achieved. Furthermore, actual results may differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements and will be affected by a variety of risks and factors that are beyond our control. Such risks and uncertainties for our company include, but are not limited to: needs for additional capital to fund our operations, our ability to continue as a going concern; uncertainties of cash flows and inability to meet working capital needs; an inability or delay in obtaining required regulatory approvals for nomacopan and any other product candidates, which may result in unexpected cost expenditures; our ability to obtain orphan drug designation in additional indications; risks inherent in drug development in general; uncertainties in obtaining successful clinical results for nomacopan and any other product candidates and unexpected costs that may result there; difficulties enrolling patients in our clinical trials; failure to realize any value of nomacopan and any other product candidates developed and being developed in light of inherent risks and difficulties involved in successfully bringing product candidates to market; inability to develop new product candidates and support existing product candidates; the approval by the FDA and EMA and any other similar foreign regulatory authorities of other competing or superior products brought to market; risks resulting from unforeseen side effects; risk that the market for nomacopan may not be as large as expected risks associated with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; inability to obtain, maintain and enforce patents and other intellectual property rights or the unexpected costs associated with such enforcement or litigation; inability to obtain and maintain commercial manufacturing arrangements with third party manufacturers or establish commercial scale manufacturing capabilities; the inability to timely source adequate supply of our active pharmaceutical ingredients from third party manufacturers on whom the company depends; unexpected cost increases and pricing pressures and risks and other risk factors detailed in our public filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC. Except as otherwise noted, these forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any of these statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after this press release. We caution investors not to place considerable reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.
For more information
Investor Contact:
Mike Moyer
LifeSci Advisors
(617) 308-4306
mmoyer@lifesciadvisors.com
Media Contact:
Eliza Schleifstein
Schleifstein PR
(917) 763-8106
eliza@schleifsteinpr.com