COVID-19 treatment developer Humanigen files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Jan 4 (Reuters) - Drug developer Humanigen has filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to a court filing, after struggling to get regulatory approval for its COVID-19 treatment.

The Burlingame, California-based company, once controlled by convicted pharma executive Martin Shkreli, listed assets worth $521,000 and total debt of $44.1 million, as per the Jan.3 filing.

Humanigen had pinned its hopes on its COVID-19 drug, lenzilumab, for which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration declined emergency use authorization in 2021.

The company had inked several contracts to manufacture the antibody medicine, but the U.S. health regulator said it was unable to conclude that the known and potential benefits of lenzilumab outweigh the known and potential risks of its use as a treatment for COVID-19.

Last July, Humanigen had flagged that it anticipated it would not be able to continue as a going concern and was exploring all restructuring options, which may include commencing a bankruptcy or other insolvency proceedings.

(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)