Novogen's US subsidiary postpones Nasdaq IPO

Sydney-based biopharma Novogen's (ASX:NRT, Nasdaq:NVGN) US subsidiary, Glycotex, is to postpone its IPO on the Nasdaq national market.

"We've decided to spend some time this year further developing [Glycotex's] program and we think that we will actually potentially increase the offering," said Novogen managing director Christopher Naughton.

Glycotex is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing drugs for human wound healing and tissue repair. The company will also withdraw its form S-1 registration statement from the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), and intends to re-file it later in 2006.

"This wasn't a matter of urgency -- it allows the development plan to be further enhanced over the next period," said Naughton. "It's not wasted effort. We have developed a complete S-1... we have had that document approved by the SEC in December. So we've done the hard work here."

To re-list, Naughton said, the S-1 would need to be updated and resubmitted to the SEC, "but given that we've had an approved S-1 for this program, we don't think administratively that's going to be nearly as onerous as it is starting from scratch."

Asked about the costs involved in re-listing, Naughton said: "Inevitably there are costs every time you phone your law firm, but most of the costs have been absorbed."

Novogen's shares were trading at AUD$4.84 at the time of writing, down $0.04 since the market opened today.