5 May 2020
BerGenBio ASA: BERGENBIO RAISES NOK500m (€45.4m) VIA AN OVER SUBSCRIBED PRIVATE PLACEMENT
Bergen, Norway, 5 May 2020 – BerGenBio ASA (OSE:BGBIO), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel, selective AXL kinase inhibitors for unmet medical need, is pleased to announce that it has raised NOK500m (gross) (€45.4 million) via an over subscribed Private Placement that took place via an accelerated book building process after close of market on 4 May 2020. The Offering was made through the allocation of 13,325,000 shares at a subscription price of NOK 37.50 per share.
BerGenBio intends to use the net proceeds from the Private Placement to take full advantage of clinical development opportunities stemming from the Company’s technology and to progress readiness for early commercialisation possibilities, as well as for general corporate purposes.
Richard Godfrey, Chief Executive Officer of BerGenBio, commented: “We are delighted with this financing and the demand for our shares. I’d like to thank our current loyal shareholders for their continued support of BerGenBio and welcome our new international investors to the register. This new investment will allow us to expand the clinical development potential of our AXL drug candidates to treat patients with serious aggressive diseases without any effective treatment option. There is growing scientific evidence to support our confidence and belief in our pipeline underlined by the UK Government’s recent request to test bemcentinib in the ACCORD study in COVID19 patients. The potential broad applicability of bemcentinib is extremely exciting for our staff and shareholders and patients alike.”
Arctic Securities AS, Carnegie AS and DNB Markets, a part of DNB Bank ASA acted as Joint Bookrunners on the transaction.
About BerGenBio
BerGenBio is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing transformative drugs targeting AXL as a potential cornerstone of therapy for aggressive diseases, including immune-evasive, therapy resistant cancers. The company’s proprietary lead candidate, bemcentinib, is a potentially first-in-class selective AXL inhibitor in a broad Phase II oncology clinical development programme focused on combination and single agent therapy in lung cancer and leukaemia. A first-in-class functional blocking anti-AXL antibody, tilvestamab, is undergoing Phase I clinical testing. In parallel, BerGenBio is developing companion diagnostic tests to identify those patient populations most likely to benefit from bemcentinib: this is expected to facilitate more efficient registration trials supporting a precision medicine-based commercialisation strategy.
BerGenBio is based in Bergen, Norway with a subsidiary in Oxford, UK. The company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (ticker: BGBIO). For more information, visit www.bergenbio.com
For more information, please contact
Richard Godfrey CEO, BerGenBio ASA
+47 917 86 304
Rune Skeie, CFO, BerGenBio ASA
rune.skeie@bergenbio.com
+47 917 86 513
International Media Relations
Mary-Jane Elliott, Chris Welsh, Lucy Featherstone, Carina Jurs
Consilium Strategic Communications
bergenbio@consilium-comms.com
+44 7780 600290/
Media Relations in Norway
Jan Petter Stiff, Crux Advisers
stiff@crux.no
+47 995 13 891
Forward looking statements
This announcement may contain forward-looking statements, which as such are not historical facts, but are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions. These assumptions are inherently subject to significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors. Such risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other important factors could cause actual events to differ materially from the expectations expressed or implied in this announcement by such forward-looking statements.
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).
