7 May 2021
BerGenBio ASA: Grant of share options
Bergen, Norway, 7 May 2021 – BerGenBio ASA (the “Company”) (OSE:BGBIO) announced that the Board of Directors has granted share options to employees.
The annual general meeting in the Company 19 March 2021 approved the share option program and authorised the board of directors of the Company to issue shares to the Company’s employees as part of a long-term incentive plan and share option program.
Options granted under the share option program will vest equally over a three-year vesting period following the grant and each option, when exercised, will give the right to acquire one share in the Company at the strike price. Options granted under the share option program expire eight years after grant date.
A total of 1,379,871 share options, equal to 1.57% of total shares issued in the Company, were granted at strike price at NOK 28,55 calculated as the volume weighted average share price over the last two weeks before the grant.
Of the total grant the following were granted to primary insiders (total holdings of share options following this grant):
Richard Godfrey – CEO: 217,361 (1,759,978)
Rune Skeie – CFO: 54,340 (297,097)
James Barnes – Director of Operations: 64,122 (301,522)
Gro Gausdal – Director of Research: 31,983 (175,359)
Alison Messom – Director of Clinical operations: 61,068 (169,068)
Endre Kjærland – Associate Director of IP and Contracts: 31,052 (161,577)
In total 459,926 share options were granted to primary insiders.
Following this grant a total of 4,890,208 share options are issued, equal to 5.56% of the total shares issued in the Company. Of this, 2,011,507 share options are vested and 2,848,949 are not vested.
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About BerGenBio ASA
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 clinical development programme focused on combination and single agent therapy in lung cancer, leukaemia and COVID-19. A first-in-class functional blocking anti-AXL antibody, tilvestamab, is undergoing phase I clinical testing. In parallel, BerGenBio is developing a companion diagnostic test to identify patient populations most likely to benefit from AXL inhibition: 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
Contacts
ir@bergenbio.com
Richard Godfrey
CEO, BerGenBio ASA
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).
