TIDMN4P
RNS Number : 9147N
N4 Pharma PLC
28 September 2023
28 September 2023
N4 Pharma Plc
("N4 Pharma" or the "Company")
Acquisition of Controlling Interest in Nanogenics Limited
Placing to raise GBP350,000
N4 Pharma Plc (AIM: N4P), the specialist pharmaceutical company
developing Nuvec(R), a novel delivery system for oncology, gene
therapy and vaccines, is pleased to announce the acquisition of a
controlling interest, through a subscription for new ordinary
shares, in Nanogenics Limited ("Nanogenics"), a company with a
complementary lipid and peptide-based delivery system called
Liptide(R), which it is using to develop a novel siRNA product
targeting an unmet clinical need in the ophthalmology market.
The acquisition has been funded by a placing of 35,000,000 new
ordinary shares of 0.4p each in the Company (the "Placing Shares")
at an issue price of 1p per Placing Share (the "Placing") raising
GBP350,000 (before expenses).
Highlights
-- Subscription for new shares in Nanogenics to acquire a 71.25%
interest for GBP250,000, reducing to a 63.75% interest as
management hit strategic milestones
-- Nanogenic's lead product candidate, ECP105 uses the
Liptide(R) platform to deliver a proprietary siRNA sequence to
silence a fibrotic gene thereby enhancing the recovery of patients
in post-glaucoma surgery
-- In 2020, more than 75 million people worldwide were affected
by glaucoma and t he total glaucoma treatment market size exceeded
$5.5 billion in 2021 and is expected to have over 3.2% CAGR from
2022 to 2028(1)
-- Investment in an early-stage siRNA product at an attractive
valuation which meets an unmet clinical need with the opportunity
to target other anti-fibrotic markets (liver and lung)
-- Expected technical synergies from developing Liptide(R) alongside Nuvec(R)
Use of Proceeds
GBP250,000 of the funds raised will be used to subscribe for an
initial economic interest of 71.25% in Nanogenics, reducing to
63.75% upon future shares vesting to Nanogenics' management for
meeting key strategic milestones. In addition, the Company is
providing a loan facility of GBP50,000 to Nanogenics (the loan
being a 2-year discretionary loan at base rate repayable before any
dividends are paid out by Nanogenics). The remainder of the funds
raised will be used to cover transaction costs.
Information on Nanogenics
Nanogenics ( www.nanogenics.co.uk ) has developed a proprietary
siRNA sequence to silence the fibrotic gene Myocardin Related
Transcription Factor B ("MRTF-B"). The company is developing a
product, named ECP105, for the recovery of post-surgical treatment
of glaucoma. In glaucoma treatment, surgery is used to lower
intraocular pressure for patients who have failed to respond to
medication. The surgery creates a reservoir (bleb) under the
surface of the eye. The natural response of the body is to try and
'heal' this drain causing fibrosis at the surgery site. This
fibrosis often leads to failure of the surgery and even with
adjunctive anti-fibrotic therapy, failure rates of surgery remain
as high as 50% and patients are frequently required to undergo
further surgery. The current preventative measure for this fibrosis
is to use untargeted, cytotoxic anti-fibrotic drugs like Mitomycin
C (a chemotherapy drug) which have a poor safety profile and are
used off-label in the US market.
Nanogenics has already undertaken an initial proof of concept
in-vivo study which has demonstrated that a single dose of ECP105
can match the anti-fibrotic effect of Mitomycin C but does not have
the cytotoxic side effects, so unlike Mitomycin C, it can be dosed
repeatedly. Nanogenics will use the proceeds received as part of
the investment by the Company to repeat this study using a novel
formulation containing its proprietary siRNA sequence as
preparation for discussions with the FDA and MHRA to approve a GLP
toxicity regulatory study and first in human clinical trials.
Nigel Theobald, Chief Executive Officer of N4 Pharma Plc,
commented:
"We have been investigating potential assets to add to the
Company for some time. The RNA sector is an exciting one with a lot
of investor and commercial interest. The addition of the Liptide(R)
delivery system and siRNA sequence adds significant potential value
to our business. As well as glaucoma, the MRTF-B gene is also
responsible for fibrosis of the liver and lung, two large areas
into which Nanogenics could develop its portfolio.
"Non-viral, non-lipid delivery systems are high in demand in the
gene therapy space and we now have two such delivery systems and
expect considerable technical synergies in developing programmes
using both Nuvec(R) and Liptide(R). We are very excited about
securing this material interest in Nanogenics on, what we consider
to be, very favourable commercial terms and we look forward to
seeing Liptide(R) develop in parallel to Nuvec(R) and the resulting
increase in newsflow having two assets under development will
bring."
Application for Admission
The Placing has been conducted utilising the Company's existing
share authorities. Application has been made for the Placing Shares
to be admitted to trading on AIM ("Admission") and it is expected
that Admission will take place and that trading will commence on
AIM at 8.00 a.m. on or around 3 October 2023. Once issued, the
Placing Shares will rank pari passu with the Company's existing
ordinary shares.
Total Voting Rights
Following Admission, the enlarged issued share capital of the
Company will comprise 268,780,349 ordinary shares of 0.4 pence each
("Ordinary Shares"). The Company does not hold any Ordinary Shares
in treasury. Consequently, 268,780,349 is the figure which may be
used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculation by
which they will determine if they are required to notify their
interest in, or a change to their interest in, the Company under
the FCA's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by
the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under
the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 which has been
incorporated into UK law by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act
2018. Upon the publication of this announcement via Regulatory
Information Service, this inside information is now considered to
be in the public domain.
Enquiries:
N4 Pharma Plc Via IFC Advisory
Nigel Theobald, CEO
Luke Cairns, Executive Director
SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP Tel: + 44 (0)20 3470 0470
Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker
Matthew Johnson/Kasia Brzozowska
(Corporate Finance)
Vadim Alexandre/Rob Rees (Corporate
Broking)
Turner Pope Investments (TPI) Limited Tel: +44 (0)20 3657 0050
Joint Broker
Andy Thacker
IFC Advisory Limited Tel: +44 (0)20 3934 6630
Financial PR
Graham Herring
Zach Cohen
About N4 Pharma
N4 Pharma is a specialist pharmaceutical company developing a
novel delivery system for oncology, gene therapy and vaccines using
its unique silica nanoparticle delivery system called Nuvec(R).
N4 Pharma's business model is to partner with companies
developing novel antigens in these fields to use Nuvec(R) as the
delivery vehicle for these antigens. As these products progress
through pre-clinical and clinical programs, N4 Pharma will seek to
receive upfront payments, milestone payments and ultimately royalty
payments once products reach the market.
[1]
https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/glaucoma-treatment-market
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