Insider buying at iCo Therapeutics

After tailing off after the financial crisis of 2008, Vancouver-based iCo Therapeutics (TSXV:ICO) has been one of the most active stocks on the TSX Venture Exchange in 2012. Shares of iCo, which began the year at $.255 cents, had more than doubled to $.54 cents earlier this month before by before retreating in the past couple of weeks.

iCo management is using the stock’s pullback to load up. Both CEO Andrew Rae and CFO John Meekison have bought shares in the open market in the past few days. On July 12th and 13th, Meekison picked up 21,000 shares at prices between $.33 and $.39 cents. Rae bought 75,000 shares yesterday.

iCo’s Therapeutics stock began to perk after the company announced it had secured a $10-million equity line facility with the Dutchess Opportunity Cayman Fund Ltd. a division of Dutchess Capital, a fund manager with offices in Boston, New York, London and Beijing. Ico’s short form prospectus, filed June 13th, indicated the company will raise up to $25-million and is an expansion of the December agreement between Dutchess and Ico. On Friday, the company announced it had closed a $2.55-million financing priced at $.45 cents, including a full warrant priced at $.60 cents.

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iCo, which was founded in 2005, is a biotech that focuses on redosing or reformulating drugs that already have a clinical history. iCo owns the exclusive worldwide rights to two products. iCo-007, is a Phase I for the treatment of Diabetic Macular Edema. iCo-008, a treatment for severe ocular allergies and Wet Age Related Macular Degeneration, is a product with Phase II clinical history.

At press time, shares of iCo Therapeutics were up 6.1% to $.35 cents.

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