: Kala Pharmaceuticals stock rockets after FDA accepts IND application for PCED treatment

Shares of Kala Pharmaceuticals Inc. KALA shot up 45.7% in premarket trading Wednesday, after the biopharmaceutical company said the Food and Drug Administration accepted its investigational new drug (IND) application for KPI-012, its treatment of persistent corneal epithelial defect (PCED). With the acceptance, the company said late Tuesday that it is now turning its focus to clinical execution, and is looking to initiate a Phase 2 trial KPI-012 in the first quarter of 2023. Also with the IND acceptance and under terms of a private placement announced last month, the company said it raised $25 million by selling a total of 43,478 shares of Series E convertible preferred stock at $575.00 a share to “a life sciences-focused investor.” Kala’s stock has plummeted 93.5% in 2022, while the iShares Biotechnology ETF IBB has lost 15.3% and the S&P 500 SPX has declined 19.7%.

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