AspenBio Pharma Prices Public Offering

CASTLE ROCK, Colo. (AP) — Biotech drugmaker AspenBio Pharma Inc. said Wednesday that it priced a public offering of 4.5 million common shares at $1.70 per share.

The price represents a 22 percent discount to the company's Tuesday closing price of $2.16.

The company said it plans to use the about $7.2 million of net proceeds from the offering for product development, FDA submission related activities, general corporate purposes and working capital.

The offering is expected to close on or about Tuesday.

The sole underwriter for the offering is ThinkEquity LLC. It has been granted a 30-day option to buy up to an additional 672,391 shares to cover possible overallotments.

AspenBio is developing an experimental blood-based test to diagnose appendicitis. In August, the Castle Rock, Colo., company disclosed that said it had received a request from the Food and Drug Administration for additional information. AspenBio said it believes that it can meet the FDA's request for more data by the first quarter.