Pharmaceutical company NeuroBo Pharmaceuticals Inc. said it has completed its all-stock deal to merge with Gemphire Therapeutics Inc. on Dec. 31, 2019.

The combined company is known as NeuroBo Pharmaceuticals and will focus on advancing therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimers disease. It began trading on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker symbol NRBO on the date of the deal closing.

Upon closing of the merger, NeuroBo shareholders own a 96.24% stake, while current Gemphire stockholders own a 3.76% stake in the combined company.

The combined organization will be based in Boston and will operate under NeuroBo's new President and CEO Richard Kang.

As part of the agreement, Gemphire stockholders are entitled to receive in aggregate, after the retention of $500,000 by the combined company and certain other permitted deductions, 80% of the net proceeds, if any, in the event the gemcabene assets are sold or licensed during the 10-year period following the closing of the merger or pursuant to the license agreement with Beijing SL Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.

Gemcabene is the company's drug candidate intended to treat cardiometabolic diseases.

The combined company plans to submit an application with results of a preclinical mouse safety study to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in early 2020 to address a partial clinical hold related to gemcabene's activation of peroxisome proliferation-activated receptor. If approved, it would be poised to progress into phase 3 human studies.