Ohr Pharmaceutical, Inc. has reportedly entered into a merger agreement with NeuBase Therapeutics, under which the latter’s stakeholders would become the majority stockholders of the joint entity.

As per trusted sources, the proposed merger will result in a public company committed to the advancement of NeuBase’s peptide-nucleic acid antisense oligonucleotide technology platform for creating therapies that address severe and currently untreatable disorders caused by genetic mutations.

Upon completion of the transaction, the combined entity will change its name to NeuBase Therapeutics, Inc. and have its trading symbol on the NASDAQ changed to NBSE. Furthermore, the NeuBase’s executive team will retain its role in the combined company to be headed by CEO, Dietrich A. Stephan, Ph.D.

Jason Slakter, M.D, CEO of Ohr Pharmaceutical, stated that the company is excited about the merger with NeuBase, and following an in-depth review of strategic alternatives, Ohr’s Board of Directors decided that the proposed transaction with NeuBase aligns with its stockholders’ interests.

Moreover, the merger will present the company an opportunity to create value as an innovative, science-driven company with a patented technology platform that uses advanced gene silencing techniques, Slakter added.

The proposed merger signals the next stage of growth for NeuBase. Ohr Pharmaceutical’s novel therapeutic modality can address an extensive range of germline and somatic diseases triggered by inappropriate expression and change-of-function mutations of genes, added Dr. Dietrich Stephan.

Sources familiar with the development claim that NeuBase’s modular PATrOL technology platform is being developed to treat multiple rare genetic diseases. These therapies have the potential to improve the current status of gene silencing treatments by merging the precision of antisense technologies with the benefits of synthetic small molecule approaches, claim credible sources.

NeuBase’s platform is presently focusing on severe neurological disorders like myotonic dystrophy or Huntington’s disease. In some cases, like Huntington’s disease, systematic administration may improve both CNS and non-CNS pathology, an advantage that doesn’t come with intrathecally administered therapies, reported sources.