8 December 2023
BerGenBio ASA: Grant of share options
Bergen, Norway, 8 December 2023 – BerGenBio ASA (the “Company”) (OSE:BGBIO), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel, selective AXL kinase inhibitors for severe unmet medical needs, today announce that the Board of Directors has granted options to employees.
The annual general meeting in the Company on 22 May 2023 approved the share option program and authorised the board of directors of the Company to issue up to 129,090,000 share options to the Company’s employees as part of a long-term incentive plan.
Options granted under the share option program will normally vest equally over a three-year period from the date of grant and each option, when exercised, will give the right to receive one share in the Company at a fixed strike price set at time of grant. Options granted under the share option program expire eight years after grant date.
A total of 112,000,000 share options were granted, equal to 4.2% of total issued shares in the Company and 2.8% on a fully dilutive basis including all outstanding Warrants and options. The strike price for this grant is NOK 0.2113 per option equal to the volume weighted average share price the last 14 days before the grant.
The board considers an option program as an important element in attracting and retaining employees to foster long-term success. The board considers the option program terms and allocation to be at the market for comparable peers.
After this grant total issued options equals 4.3% of the total issued shares in the Company and 2.9% on a fully dilutive basis compared to the average level over the last five years of 5.5% of issued shares in the Company and 5.0% on a fully dilutive basis.
Of the total grant the following were granted to primary insiders (total holdings of share options following this grant):
Martin Olin – CEO: 24,000,000 (24,950,000)
Rune Skeie – CFO: 12,000,000 (12,397,097)
Cristina Oliva – CMO: 12,000,000 (12,200,000)
In total 48,000,000 share options were granted to primary insiders.
Following this grant a total of 115,586,772 share options are issued, equal to 4.3% of the total shares issued in the Company. Of this, 2,228,807 share options are vested and 113,357,965 not vested.
-End-
Contacts
Martin Olin
CEO, BerGenBio ASA
ir@bergenbio.com
Rune Skeie
CFO, BerGenBio ASA
rune.skeie@bergenbio.com
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
About Oncoinvent
Oncoinvent is developing Radspherin®, a receptor-independent alpha radiation therapy that leverages the unique anatomy of the abdominal cavity to destroy residual micrometastases using a single, highly localized dose of alpha radiation. The initial clinical focus is treatment of ovarian and colorectal cancer patients after surgical removal of the primary tumor and visible metastases in the peritoneum, the thin membrane lining the abdominal cavity and covering the abdominal organs.
This radiopharmaceutical is designed to prevent or delay recurrence in the peritoneal cavity, keeping patients disease-free for longer than the current standard of care and thereby also impacting overall survival. It is broadly applicable to any cancer that spreads to the peritoneum, e.g. ovarian, colorectal, and gastric cancers. Radspherin® stands out for its simplicity, excellent safety profile, and seamless integration into existing surgical workflows. Oncoinvent’s product is easy to use, avoids systemic delivery and significant toxicity. It is also differentiated in being simple to manufacture, scalable, and supply de-risked.
Data from two trials in ovarian (phase 1) and colorectal (phase 1/2a) cancers, are highly promising, showing an excellent safety profile and meaningful signals of efficacy. Interim data from an ongoing, randomized, controlled phase 2 ovarian cancer trial is expected in 2026. With cost-effective manufacturing, blockbuster potential, active pharma partnership momentum, plus strong endorsements from leading experts, Oncoinvent is built for scale and commercial success, and is set to become the new standard for post-surgical cancer care. The Company was founded by the originators of Algeta and Xofigo (acquired by Bayer).
