aibioAdial Pharmaceuticals renames itself Azora Therapeutics after preferred stock vote
Tickers ADIL
Adial Pharmaceuticals becomes Azora Therapeutics and is expected to trade as AZR from October 29, 2026, after stockholders approved converting the preferred stock issued in its June 2026 acquisition of Azora. The October release does not mention AD04, the drug the company's March 2026 annual report called its lead asset.
Key facts
- Company
- Adial Pharmaceuticals, Inc (NASDAQ: ADIL)
- News type
- Financings
- Primary source
- Adial Pharmaceuticals, Inc 8-K, Exhibit 99.1 (2026-10-28)
The name and the ticker
Adial Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ADIL) has changed its name to Azora Therapeutics, Inc. Its common stock is expected to begin trading on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the ticker AZR on October 29, 2026, according to a release dated October 28, 2026. The company also launched a new website.
The preferred conversion
On October 28, 2026, stockholders approved converting the Series A preferred stock issued when Adial acquired Azora Therapeutics in June 2026. Outstanding preferred shares convert automatically into common stock, subject to beneficial ownership limits set by each holder. Stockholders also approved the exercise of prefunded warrants sold in the private placement that accompanied the merger.
The release does not give the number of preferred shares, the conversion terms or the common share count after conversion, so the dilution from the conversion cannot be measured from it.
The June financing
The initial closing of that private placement, completed alongside the merger in June, raised about $32 million gross, including the conversion and retirement of certain outstanding Azora notes. Coastlands Capital led the round. Boxer Capital Management, Stonepine Capital Management, AuGC BioFund and Kern Capital also took part, along with insiders and management. Azora could receive another $32 million in gross proceeds when its Phase 1 study begins.
The release names no placement agent, bank or counsel for this financing. It lists LifeSci Advisors, LLC as an investor contact but does not describe it as an adviser to the financing.
The cash
The 10-K filed March 5, 2026 reported year-end 2025 cash of $5.9 million, up from $3.8 million a year earlier. It said that cash was not expected to fund operations for the next twelve months. A 10-Q/A lists cash of $28.7 million at June 30, 2026, after the June financing closed.
The 2025 net loss was $8.0 million, down from $13.2 million in 2024. The accumulated deficit reached $90.0 million, up from $82.0 million. Cash used in operations was $6.5 million, against $6.9 million. The release says the company expects its cash to fund current operating plans into 2028, including IND-enabling studies and the planned Phase 1 trial.
The new lead drug
AT177 is an oral, colon-targeted aryl hydrocarbon receptor agonist for ulcerative colitis. The release describes it as a prodrug of indirubin, a compound derived from indigo naturalis. The release says indigo naturalis "has been evaluated in clinical studies in patients with ulcerative colitis but has not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration." AT177 is in IND-enabling studies, with a Phase 1 trial planned for the first half of 2027. The release reports preclinical "robust local colonic AhR activation" but gives no figures.
The old lead drug
The 10-K filed March 5, 2026 names AD04, a treatment for alcohol use disorder, as the company's lead investigational drug. It says the company is focused on completing AD04's clinical program in genetic subgroups identified after the ONWARD Phase 3 trial, to meet regulatory requirements primarily in the United States.
The 10-K also describes a March 3, 2026 collaboration framework with Molteni Farmaceutici for an exclusive European partnership on AD04. The company estimates the royalties and milestones at "nearly $60 million," if the drug advances. Molteni has no obligation to sign a definitive agreement.
The October release does not mention AD04, Molteni or the framework, and it does not say what has happened to either since March.
The new team
The company named a new executive team effective October 28. Matt Davidson, Ph.D., co-founder, is President and Chief Executive Officer; he was previously founder and CEO of Verrica Pharmaceuticals. Julie Saiki, Ph.D., co-founder, is Chief Strategy Officer and led a Stanford phase 1b study that the company says established clinical evidence that AhR activation could treat ulcerative colitis. Celia Economides is Chief Financial Officer, David Rubenstein, M.D., Ph.D., is Chief Scientist, and Ajay Duggal is Consulting Chief Medical Officer. The release gives no share price for the conversion or the new trading, and does not discuss the company's Nasdaq listing status.