aibioEnsysce gets Nasdaq bid price extension to February 2027
Tickers ENSC
Nasdaq extended the Ensysce Biosciences bid price deadline to February 22, 2027, and said the company must meet initial listing criteria after its Cy Biopharma acquisition.
Key facts
- Company
- Ensysce Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENSC)
- News type
- Listings
- Primary source
- Ensysce Biosciences, Inc. 8-K (2026-08-25)
Ensysce Biosciences, Inc. said Nasdaq has given it until February 22, 2027, to regain compliance with the minimum bid price requirement. The company reported the change in an 8-K filed August 25, 2026. The same filing says Nasdaq also found that the company now meets its stockholders' equity requirement. Nasdaq warned, however, that the company remains subject to delisting if it does not show that compliance in its next periodic report.
Two Nasdaq deficiency notices
The bid price matter began on February 25, 2026, when Nasdaq notified the company that its common stock had closed below $1.00 per share for the previous 30 consecutive business days. That is a breach of Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2). Nasdaq first gave the company 180 calendar days, or until August 24, 2026, to regain compliance. On August 25, 2026, Nasdaq granted an additional 180 calendar days, or until February 22, 2027.
The stockholders' equity matter started with a May 21, 2026 notice that the company did not meet the $2.5 million requirement in Rule 5550(b)(1) as of March 31, 2026. The company says it submitted a timely plan by the July 6 deadline. On August 25, 2026, Nasdaq determined that the company complies with Rule 5550(b)(1). The company said it believes it will be able to evidence compliance in its next periodic report.
The Cy Biopharma transaction
The filing says the company acquired Cy Biopharma, Inc., a Delaware corporation, on August 5, 2026. Nasdaq then told the company that the transaction will result in a change of control under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5110(a). Under that rule, the post-transaction company must satisfy Nasdaq's initial listing criteria and complete the initial listing process before the company obtains shareholder approval of the conversion of preferred stock issued in the transaction.
The business behind the listing
The company's annual report, filed March 30, 2026, describes Ensysce as a clinical stage pharmaceutical company seeking to develop solutions for severe pain relief while reducing the potential for opioid misuse, abuse and overdose. Its lead product candidate, PF614, is a TAAP oxycodone prodrug. The report says TAAP, short for Trypsin Activated Abuse Protection, is designed to release oxycodone only when the drug is exposed to the digestive enzyme trypsin.
The second platform, Multi-Pill Abuse Resistant technology, or MPAR, is designed to limit the bioavailability of active opioid following co-ingestion, and each TAAP prodrug is intended to be combined with it for overdose protection. The annual report says the company filed an Investigational New Drug application and completed a Phase 1 trial for PF614 in February 2018. It cites later studies completed between July 2022 and December 2023, the last of them an efficacy study.
Financial position
The annual report's financial data show revenue of $5.1 million for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, compared with $5.2 million for 2024. Research and development expense was $10.4 million in 2025, up from $7.2 million in 2024. Cash used in operations was $7.8 million in 2025 and $7.5 million in 2024. Figures from the company's quarterly report filed August 13, 2026 show cash and cash equivalents of $4.3 million at December 31, 2025, and $676,704 at June 30, 2026.
The risks ahead
The relief is partial. Nasdaq says the company is subject to delisting if it fails to show stockholders' equity compliance in its next periodic report, and the company only says it believes it will manage that. The Cy transaction is a change of control, so the company must meet Nasdaq's initial listing criteria before stockholders approve conversion of the preferred stock issued in the deal. The filing warns that failing the listing requirements would mean a suspension of trading. It gives no date for the listing application and no plan for the bid price beyond intending to act.
The sources give no results for the efficacy study completed in December 2023, and the Phase 1 data described show a release profile matching OxyContin OP, not proof of pain relief.