ZyVersa Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical stage specialty biopharmaceutical company leveraging advanced, proprietary technologies to develop product candidates that address unmet medical needs in the areas of renal and inflammatory diseases, and Larkspur Health Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: LSPR), a blank-check special purpose acquisition company, are pleased to announce that Larkspur has refiled with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission their proxy/registration statement on Form S-4 in connection with the business combination agreement between Larkspur and ZyVersa previously announced on July 20, 2022. Larkspur and ZyVersa are also pleased to announce commitments of approximately $8.5 million, exceeding the previously announced $7.0 million, contingent financing that provides for the purchase of Convertible Preferred Stock of Larkspur. ZyVersa has also announced an additional closing of an interim finance round of approximately $1.5 million from an offering of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock of ZyVersa that will convert into ZyVersa common stock in connection with the Transaction. The aggregate committed capital between the PIPE Investment and the Bridge is now $10.0 million. Capital raised in the Bridge will support the advancement of research and development programs and ongoing ZyVersa operations and, along with funds from the PIPE Investment, will be used by the combined company following the Transaction for similar business purposes.
The PIPE Investment is anticipated to close simultaneously with the closing of the Transaction, which is expected to take place in the fourth quarter of 2022. Upon closing of the Transaction, Larkspur is expected to be renamed ZyVersa Therapeutics, Inc. and will continue to operate under the ZyVersa management team, led by Stephen C. Glover, Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of ZyVersa. The combined company’s common stock is anticipated to be listed on NASDAQ under ticker symbol “ZVSA.”
“We are grateful to our investors, including some who have been with us for many years, for their continued support and follow-on investments,” said ZyVersa’s CEO, Stephen C. Glover. “Their support will enable us to advance clinical evaluation of our cholesterol efflux mediator candidate (VAR 200) in patients with orphan renal disease, FSGS, and to progress our inflammasome ASC inhibitor candidate (IC 100) into Phase 1 trials. Patient targets for each of these product candidates have significant unmet medical needs that we believe our product candidates have potential to fulfill,” continued Mr. Glover.
“We appreciate the vote of confidence from our new PIPE investors,” stated Daniel J. O’Connor, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Larkspur. “Their support is a tribute to their belief in ZyVersa’s CEO, Mr. Stephen Glover, who has successfully co-founded and led multiple biopharma companies; the extensive scientific and operational experience of ZyVersa’s management team; and the potential of ZyVersa’s proprietary drug candidates, VAR 200 and IC 100, to help drive improved health outcomes in patients with serious renal or inflammatory diseases,” added Mr. O’Connor.
ZyVersa is a clinical stage specialty biopharmaceutical company leveraging advanced, proprietary technologies to develop product candidates that address unmet medical needs in the areas of renal and inflammatory diseases. ZyVersa’s development pipeline includes phase 2a ready VAR 200, a cholesterol efflux mediator for treatment of rare kidney disease, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. ZyVersa believes VAR 200 has the potential to treat other glomerular diseases, including Alport Syndrome and diabetic kidney disease. ZyVersa’s development pipeline also includes IC 100, a novel inflammasome ASC inhibitor in development to treat a multitude of inflammatory diseases. For more information, please visit www.zyversa.com.
Larkspur is a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) formed to identify a biopharmaceutical company that can develop and thrive as a newly formed public company and benefit from Larkspur’s operational expertise and a significant infusion of capital. Each of Larkspur’s management team and board of directors have been former management and executive leadership of private and public biopharmaceutical companies and have over 50+ years of aggregate investment and operational experiences. The team strongly believes in the growth opportunities in the biotechnology industry. They are experienced operators who seek to partner with top innovators and thinkers in the biopharmaceutical field. As operators, their entrepreneurial approach enables support for management teams in making impactful decisions with an eye toward growth and operational excellence. For more information, please visit www.lsprhealth.com.
