Date: 2013-02-11
Type of information: Private placement
Company: e-Therapeutics (UK)
Investors:
Amount: £40 million (€47.3 million)
Funding type: private placement
Planned used: The Company expects to deploy the approximately £39m net proceeds of the Placing together with its existing resources of approximately £9m (and such funds as are available from Research and Development tax credits and interest earned during the period over which these resources are deployed) to advance the Company’s lead drug ETS2101 into and through further clinical trials that will include patients with a number of different cancers; to support additional drug discovery and drug development activities for other drug candidates; and for general corporate purposes. The Company conducts regular reviews of its discovery and development portfolios, as a result of which the allocation of resources to particular programmes is set and adjusted. The Directors currently expect that approximately £25m of the resources available after the Placing will be deployed to advance ETS2101.
Others: * On February 11, 2013, the drug discovery and development company e-Therapeutics has announced that it proposes to raise £40 million (approximately £39 million net) through an issue of new ordinary shares to existing and new institutional investors. The new shares will be priced at 32p, a premium of 4% to the closing mid-market price on the last dealing day before this announcement. Irrevocable undertakings of support have been received from shareholders representing approximately 86% of the Company’s equity in advance of a general meeting where approval for the issue will be sought. The Placings are conditional on the passing of two resolutions to be considered at a general meeting of the Company to take place at St Ann’s Wharf, 112 Quayside, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 3DX, UK, on 27 February 2013 at 9.30 a.m. (the “General Meeting”). The Resolutions are as follows:
Following the proposed issue, the Company will have pro-forma net cash and liquid resources of approximately £48 million. Together with expected receipts from R&D tax credits and interest, these resources are intended to support all of the Company’s currently planned discovery and development activities into 2017, by which time the Directors believe an out-licensing deal could be concluded for the Company’s lead cancer drug, ETS2101.
The principal planned uses of the company’s enlarged cash resources are:
• to complete phase I trials for ETS2101 and advance the drug seamlessly into and through the next phase of its clinical development, which is expected to include a randomised phase II trial in brain cancer (glioma) and a phase Ib/II trial that will explore the drug’s activity in four to six other cancer indications. e-Therapeutics plans to spend around £25 million on this programme for ETS2101 and expects to complete the studies in time to conclude a licensing deal or deals during 2017 if the data are supportive;
• to continue investment in new drug discovery using the Company’s network pharmacology platform, and
• to advance newly discovered drugs and existing product assets into and through preclinical and clinical development, with the aim of building an increasingly diverse and mature portfolio of drug candidates.
The funds to be raised through the new issue will include a substantial further investment by Invesco Asset Management Limited, whose shareholding will increase from 45.92% to 49.90% after completion. The Takeover Panel has granted an Accelerated Rule 9 Waiver in respect of the acquisition of new shares by Invesco.
• Resolution 1 is an ordinary resolution to authorise the Directors to allot the New Shares; and
• Resolution 2 is a special resolution to disapply pre-emption rights in relation to the issue of shares including the New Shares
Therapeutic area: Cancer - Oncology
