- Funding expected to extend the Company’s cash
runway beyond the next 24 months -
- First tranche of $75 million was drawn upon
closing; the Company will be eligible to draw an additional $50
million subject to achievement of commercial milestones -
bluebird bio, Inc. (NASDAQ: BLUE) (“bluebird bio” or the
“Company”) today announced that it has entered into a $175 million
five-year, term loan facility with Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:
HTGC) (“Hercules”). The transaction strengthens the Company’s
balance sheet as it executes on the commercial launches for its
three FDA approved gene therapies – LYFGENIA for sickle cell
disease, ZYNTEGLO for beta-thalassemia and SKYSONA for cerebral
adrenoleukodystrophy.
The term loan facility provides for up to $175 million of term
loans in aggregate, available in four tranches. Upon closing of the
transaction, the first tranche of $75 million was drawn. Under the
terms of the agreement, bluebird will be eligible to draw two
additional tranches of $25 million each, subject to the achievement
of commercial milestones. Based on launch trajectory and current
business plans, and assuming three tranches totaling $125 million
are executed, the transaction is expected to extend bluebird’s cash
runway through the first quarter of 2026. A fourth tranche of up to
$50 million may be available at the sole discretion of Hercules.
During the first three years of the five-year term, the Company
will be responsible for paying only the interest on any amounts
borrowed; any outstanding balance as of April 1, 2027 will be
amortized over the remaining life of the loan.
“Since establishing bluebird as an independent gene therapy
company in 2021, we have been focused on diligently deploying our
capital and strengthening our balance sheet to further our
mission,” said Chris Krawtschuk, chief financial officer, bluebird
bio. “This financing underscores the value bluebird offers as a
standalone gene therapy leader and meaningfully extends our runway,
bolstering our ability to bring transformative treatments to
patients and their families.”
“Hercules is excited to partner with bluebird as they launch
LYFGENIA and bring this transformational therapy to patients living
with sickle cell disease,” said Michael Dutra, Managing Director
and Senior Investment Officer at Hercules Capital. “We are proud to
support bluebird’s mission of developing and commercializing
treatments for severe genetic diseases. This financing should help
support the availability of their novel gene therapies for
patients,” added John Miotti, Principal at Hercules Capital.
Additional details of the loan agreement will be filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission on a Current Report on Form
8-K.
J. Wood Capital Advisors acted as sole financial advisor to the
Company. Latham & Watkins LLP served as legal counsel to
bluebird and DLA Piper served as legal counsel to Hercules.
About bluebird bio, Inc.
bluebird bio is pursuing curative gene therapies to give
patients and their families more bluebird days.
Founded in 2010, bluebird has been setting the standard for gene
therapy for more than a decade—first as a scientific pioneer and
now as a commercial leader. bluebird has an unrivaled track record
in bringing the promise of gene therapy out of clinical studies and
into the real-world setting, having secured FDA approvals for three
therapies in under two years. Today, we are proving and scaling the
commercial model for gene therapy and delivering innovative
solutions for access to patients, providers, and payers.
With a dedicated focus on severe genetic diseases, bluebird has
the largest and deepest ex-vivo gene therapy data set in the field,
with industry-leading programs for sickle cell disease,
β-thalassemia and cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy. We custom design
each of our therapies to address the underlying cause of disease
and have developed in-depth and effective analytical methods to
understand the safety of our lentiviral vector technologies and
drive the field of gene therapy forward.
bluebird continues to forge new paths as a standalone commercial
gene therapy company, combining our real-world experience with a
deep commitment to patient communities and a people-centric culture
that attracts and grows a diverse flock of dedicated birds.
For more information, visit bluebirdbio.com or follow us
on social media at @bluebirdbio, LinkedIn,
Instagram and YouTube.
bluebird bio, ZYNTEGLO, SKYSONA and LYFGENIA are registered
trademarks of bluebird bio, Inc. All rights reserved.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. All statements that are not statements of historical facts
are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements, such as
statements regarding the Company’s anticipated ability to draw
future tranches under the loan agreement and the impact on the
Company’s cash runway and statements regarding the Company’s plans
and expectations for the launch trajectory of its approved gene
therapies, the anticipated benefits of and activities under the
loan agreement and the Company’s business strategy and plans. Such
forward-looking statements are based on historical performance and
current expectations and projections about our future financial
results, goals, plans and objectives and involve inherent risks,
assumptions and uncertainties, including internal or external
factors that could delay, divert or change any of them in the next
several years, that are difficult to predict, may be beyond our
control and could cause our future financial results, goals, plans
and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in, or
implied by, the statements. No forward-looking statement can be
guaranteed. Forward-looking statements in this press release should
be evaluated together with the many risks and uncertainties that
affect bluebird bio’s business, particularly those identified in
the risk factors discussion in bluebird bio’s Annual Report on Form
10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, as updated by our
subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form
8-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
These risks include, but are not limited to: delays and challenges
in our commercialization and manufacturing of our products; the
internal and external costs required for our ongoing and planned
activities, and the resulting impact on expense and use of cash,
has been, and may in the future be, higher than expected which has
caused us, and may in the future cause us to use cash more quickly
than we expect or change or curtail some of our plans or both;
substantial doubt exists regarding our ability to continue as a
going concern; our expectations as to expenses, cash usage and cash
needs may prove not to be correct for other reasons such as changes
in plans or actual events being different than our assumptions; the
risk that the efficacy and safety results from our prior and
ongoing clinical trials will not continue or be seen in additional
patients treated with our product candidates; the risk of
insertional oncogenic or other reportable events associated with
lentiviral vector, drug product, or myeloablation, including the
risk of hematologic malignancy; and the risk that any one or more
of our products will not be successfully commercialized. The
forward-looking statements included in this document are made only
as of the date of this document and except as otherwise required by
applicable law, bluebird bio undertakes no obligation to publicly
update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result
of new information, future events, changed circumstances or
otherwise.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240318783958/en/
Investors & Media
Investors: Courtney O’Leary, 978-621-7347
coleary@bluebirdbio.com
Media: Jess Rowlands, 857-299-6103
Jess.rowlands@bluebirdbio.com
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