PharmaPrint to Fight to Stay on Nasdaq

PharmaPrint Inc., trying to build business after its only major customer gave notice of terminating a contract, said Monday that it will try to fend off an attempt to remove its stock from the Nasdaq National Market system.

The money-losing Irvine maker of herbal and dietary supplements said in a press release that it has been informed that its financial condition has worsened to the point that it no longer meets Nasdaq criteria for listing its stock on the national market.

PharmaPrint said it will try to argue its case for remaining on Nasdaq at a Feb. 11 meeting. The company said it will submit a plan to demonstrate its ability to sustain long-term compliance with a required level of net tangible assets.

The company said it believes it complies with all other requirements to maintain its listing on Nasdaq.

The stock price fell 16 cents Monday to close at $1.41 a share.

Since October, the company has reduced overall wages and salaries 30%, mainly with the elimination of 10 jobs. It plans to refocus itself into a multilevel marketing and specialty operation, hiring a few employees but keeping its overall labor costs at 15% below its October level.

The tiny company has been supplying American Home Products Inc. with ingredients for American Home’s Centrum brand. But the Madison, N.J., giant cut orders during PharmaPrint’s fiscal second quarter, which ended in September, and gave one-year formal notice in October that it will terminate the contract.

The two companies have lawsuits pending against each other.

On Friday, a shareholder lawsuit was filed in federal court in New Jersey alleging the company has made false and misleading statements about its financial condition since July 1, causing the stock price to be inflated artificially.