LONDON (Reuters) - Amryt Pharma (L:AMYT) (O:AMYT), a rare disease specialist listed on London's AIM and Dublin's ESM markets, debuted on Nasdaq on Wednesday in a move aimed at increasing the liquidity of its stock and gaining more analyst coverage.
Its American Depository Shares, which each represent five ordinary shares, were trading at $11.50 on Wednesday afternoon. The company did not issue new shares.
Chief Executive Joe Wiley said it was an important milestone: "It will provide us with the opportunity to improve underlying liquidity in our shares, target a wider investor audience and increase our analyst coverage."
"With nearly 70% of our shareholders based in North America, listing on Nasdaq is an important part of our shareholder engagement and development plans," he added.
Amryt sells the drug Lojuxta across Europe and other territories, which helps remove LDL cholesterol from the blood of people with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) - a genetic disorder characterized by high cholesterol levels.
Without treatment the high levels of cholesterol, which are less responsive to methods that are usually more effective in people without FH, can lead to heart attacks and sudden death.
It also has a drug for the rare genetic skin disorder epidermolysis bullosa in late development.