CohBar, Inc. (CWBR)

CohBar was a clinical-stage biotechnology company that worked on mitochondria-based therapeutics, a class of peptides derived from small proteins encoded in mitochondrial DNA. The company was co-founded in 2007 by researchers Pinchas Cohen and Nir Barzilai, whose surnames form its name, and it was based in Menlo Park, California. Its lead candidate, CB4211, was tested for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and obesity.

CohBar first listed its shares on the TSX Venture Exchange in 2015 and later added a Nasdaq listing under the ticker CWBR. Its research covered metabolic, fibrotic and inflammatory diseases, including an effort to treat acute respiratory distress syndrome during the COVID-19 pandemic. Clinical progress was modest, and the company's market value shrank as it consumed its cash.

In May 2023 CohBar agreed to a reverse merger with Morphogenesis, a private company developing cancer immunotherapies. Later that year the board concluded the deal could not proceed, mainly because of guidance from Nasdaq on listing requirements, and Morphogenesis terminated the agreement effective November 1, 2023. CohBar then said it would wind down and dissolve, with about $9 million in cash and investments on hand at the end of September.

Nasdaq determined that CohBar had become a public shell and no longer qualified for listing. The company did not appeal, its shares were suspended on November 29, 2023, and Nasdaq removed the stock from listing effective January 8, 2024. CohBar proceeded with its plan of liquidation.