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MEIP to offer $45,000,000 of common stock

This strikes me as total bullshit. Most retail investors thought the weakness in the share price over the last two weeks was due to the failure of another HDAC inhibitor, Vorinostat. Now the source of the weakness is revealed; obviously, the news of the offering leaked. Does the SEC ever investigate stuff like this? It looks like MEIP is going to take Pracinostat into Phase III on its own. Could this become a violation of the Feuerstein's rule about small-cap biotechs and oncology? Does the offering tell us anything about the MDS trial where results are due in 1Q15. I may sell for the tax loss and buy back in January.



December 10, 2014 - 4:01 PM EST


MEI Pharma Announces $45 Million Proposed Public Offering of Common Stock
SAN DIEGO, Dec. 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- MEI Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: MEIP), an oncology company focused on the clinical development of novel therapies for cancer, announced today that it plans to offer up to $45,000,000 of shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering. In connection with the offering, the Company intends to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 15% of the shares of common stock offered in the public offering.

The Company plans to use the net proceeds of the offering, together with other available funds, to progress the clinical development programs for Pracinostat in acute myeloid leukemia and for other general corporate purposes.

BofA Merrill Lynch is acting as sole book-running manager for the offering. Cowen and Company and Stifel are acting as co-lead managers.

The offering is subject to market conditions, and there can be no assurance as to whether or when the offering may be completed, or as to the actual size or terms of the offering.

The securities described above are being offered pursuant to a "shelf" registration statement previously filed and declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The offering is being made only by means of a prospectus supplement and accompanying base prospectus. When available, copies of the preliminary prospectus supplement and accompanying base prospectus relating to the offering may be obtained from BofA Merrill Lynch, Attention: Prospectus Department, 222 Broadway, New York, New York 10038, email: [e-mail]. An electronic copy of the preliminary prospectus supplement and accompanying base prospectus relating to the offering will also be available on the website of the SEC at www.sec.gov.

This release does not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

About MEI Pharma

MEI Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: MEIP) is a San Diego-based oncology company focused on the clinical development of novel therapies for cancer. The Company's lead drug candidate is Pracinostat, a potential best-in-class, oral HDAC inhibitor currently being developed for MDS and AML. In August 2014, the Company completed enrollment in a randomized, placebo-controlled Phase II study of Pracinostat in combination with azacitidine in patients with previously untreated intermediate-2 or high-risk MDS. The Company plans to unblind the study and report topline data in March 2015. MEI Pharma is also developing ME-344, a mitochondrial inhibitor currently in a Phase Ib study in combination with topotecan in patients with small cell lung or ovarian cancer who failed initial therapy. In September 2013, the Company further expanded its pipeline of drug candidates with the acquisition of PWT143, a highly selective PI3K delta inhibitor.

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