Pharmaxis to list on Nasdaq

Drug developer Pharmaxis (ASX:PXS) has received approval to list its American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol PXSLY.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has indicated that the company's registration statement should be processed, and the ADRs registered, on or about August 26. Trading in Pharmaxis ADRs on Nasdaq should be possible once the ADRs are registered.

"It's an important step, of course, for the company moving forward. It's part of the internationalisation of the business and also the internationalisation of our products," said Pharmaxis CEO Alan Robertson.

One ADR will continue to be equivalent to 15 Pharmaxis shares and the Bank of New York remains the depositary bank.

"We've had our Level 1 ADR program effective, but that's really the first step and it never leads to any trading," said Robertson. "But now that the ADRs are listed, it's full SEC reporting, US accounting and of course the ADRs are freely tradable as any share is, in any other market."

While the company has no immediate plans to issue more shares, Robertson said the Nasdaq listing "should facilitate us growing our business in the future. Institutions, not just in the US but also in Europe, follow companies on Nasdaq and generally get a higher level of comfort when the company's fully SEC compliant and US GAAP [Generally Accepted Accounting Principles] reporting, and also they can see a market in their shares."

Pharmaxis shares were trading at $AUD2.06, up $0.12, at the time of writing.