San Diego’s Evoke Pharma Files IPO to Advance Gastrointestinal Drug
Summary
Evoke would be one of the first life sciences companies in San Diego to test the practicality of the relaxed disclosure rules, and how well investors accept them.The big difference is that EVK-001 has been formulated for use as a nasal spray—a delivery method that would bypass a patient’s balky gastrointestinal tract and enable the drug to directly enter the bloodstream.Evoke says it has completed a second mid-stage clinical trial with 287 patients that showed EVK-001 was safe, and effective in improving the most prevalent symptoms associated with gastroparesis in women.Evoke said the expected net proceeds from the IPO will not be enough to complete its planned clinical trials or to fund other commercialization activities that would be necessary if EVK-001 can win FDA approval.For example, the company needs only to present two years of audited financial statements in its prospectus, Evoke won’t have to comply with auditor attestation requirements under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and there are reduced obligations for disclosing executive pay.