New Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Filing - Novan Inc. ($NOVN)

On July 17, 2023, NC-based Novan Inc. ($NOVN or “Novan”) and an affiliate it acquired in March ‘22, EPI Health LLC (“EPI,” together, the “debtors”), filed chapter 11 bankruptcy cases in the District of Delaware (Judge Silverstein).

Founded in ‘06 and IPO’d in ‘16, Novan is a medical dermatology company primarily focused on researching, developing and commercializing innovative therapeutic products for skin diseases in the United States; it has been proficiently incinerating cash since its inception in an effort to (i) develop SB206, a topical prescription gel for the treatment of viral skin infections and (ii) progress SB204, an acne treatment therapy. Novan’s impressive cash inferno — equating to an accumulated deficit of $324.4mm — continued even after Novan’s IPO, a fact that is captured by this truly atrocious stock chart ⬇️: