Abortion Pill Maker Danco Laboratories Doesn’t Look Set to IPO Soon

The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade after 50 years and paved the way for states to ban abortions. The ruling has invoked strong reactions from people across both sides of the political divide. There's also been renewed interest in Danco Laboratories, which manufactures the abortion pill Mifeprex. Is Danco Labs stock publicly traded?

After the overturning of the landmark 1973 ruling, according to the Guttmacher Institute, 26 U.S. states are either certain or likely to ban abortions now. It stated, “Over decades, research has demonstrated that abortion bans most severely impact people in marginalized groups who already struggle to access health care, including abortion.”

Abortions can either be surgical or medical. The drug mifepristone, when taken with misoprostol, can trigger a medical abortion in the first ten weeks of pregnancy. Almost half of all abortions in the U.S. are now medical.

Danco Laboratories makes mifepristone under the brand name Mifeprex. The drug has been in the U.S. market for 22 years and is FDA-approved. The drug must prescribed by a certified medical professional, either in person or through a telehealth appointment. It can be mailed to the patient but many states have ruled that a healthcare professional has to be present when the drug is administered.

Mifeprex isn't available in U.S. pharmacies. The FDA also approved a generic version from GenBioPro in 2019.

Corcept Therapeutics uses mifepristone to produce Korlym, which is used to treat patients with Cushing's syndrome. However, Korlym has a larger dose of mifepristone and isn't recommended for abortions. It's also much costlier than Mifeprex.

Danco Laboratories is headquartered in New York and makes Mifeprex at an undisclosed location in Europe.

In its statement to ABC News, the FDA said, “There is a risk that individuals associated with the development, marketing and distribution of mifepristone for medical termination of early pregnancy may become the targets of threats of harm or violence.” It added, "Therefore, the agency does not disclose the names or locations of such individuals."

Danco Laboratories' stock isn't publicly traded. The company has been quite secretive about its operations, investors, and employees, and it has no social media presence. And although demand for Mifeprex is expected to spike following the Supreme Court ruling, Danco doesn't seem set to IPO anytime soon.