Protagenic Therapeutics Closes Settlement with Phytanix Bio
Protagenic Therapeutics announced the closing of a settlement and separation related to its prior Phytanix Bio acquisition. The transaction simplifies Protagenic's capital structure, materially reducing liabilities and sharpens the Company's operating focus on PT00114. At the common-share level, the separation impact is measurable for shareholders. Protagenic reported 1,934,878 common shares outstanding as of November 26, 2025. Under the separation agreement, all 117,690 common shares issued in connection with the May 2025 transaction were returned to the Company and cancelled. As of March 5, 2026, Protagenic reported 1,810,208 common shares outstanding. The returned merger shares represented approximately 6% of the November 2025 common share base, increasing the ownership percentage represented by each remaining common share. The separation also removes more than $6.3 million of liabilities from Protagenic's balance sheet, reducing total liabilities from approximately $6.8 million to approximately $0.5 million, while eliminating more than $1mm in annualized costs associated with the Phytanix organization and their operations. Protagenic expects the remaining approximately $0.5 million of liabilities to consist principally of ordinary-course trade payables associated with ongoing operations. Key Implications for PTIX Shareholders: Greater per-share ownership. The 117,690 merger shares returned and cancelled represented approximately 6% of the 1,934,878 common shares outstanding reported as of November 26, 2025. As of March 5, 2026, the Company reported 1,810,208 common shares outstanding. Materially cleaner balance sheet. More than $6.3 million of liabilities were removed, reducing total liabilities to approximately $0.5 million, principally ordinary-course payables. Leaner cost structure. More than $1 million of annualized personnel and related operating expense tied to the Phytanix organization has been eliminated. Capital concentrated on PT00114. Management can now prioritize a first-in-class clinical program with positive multiple-dose Phase 1 safety data and Phase 2 enrollment planned for 2026. Reduced transaction overhang. Merger-related litigation has been resolved, governance has been simplified and each company can advance independently. PT00114, a first-in-class investigational compound targeting the TCAP pathway, is now the Company's primary clinical priority. In December 2025, Protagenic reported positive topline results from the program's Phase 1 multiple-dose study: PT00114 was well tolerated across all dose ranges studied, no serious adverse events were observed and all planned cohorts completed dosing. The Company remains on track to begin Phase 2 enrollment in 2026.
