Allena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALNA), a late-stage, biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing and commercializing first-in-class, oral enzyme therapeutics to treat patients with rare and severe metabolic and kidney disorders, announced today that it has entered into an underwriting agreement with H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC
NEWTON, Mass., Dec. 01, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Allena Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (NASDAQ: ALNA), a late-stage, biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing and commercializing first-in-class, oral enzyme therapeutics to treat patients with rare and severe metabolic and kidney disorders, announced today that it has entered into an underwriting agreement with H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC under which the underwriter has agreed to purchase on a firm commitment basis 8,000,000 shares of common stock of the Company, at a price to the public of $1.25 per share, less underwriting discounts and commissions. The closing of the offering is expected to occur on or about December 4, 2020, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions.
H.C. Wainwright & Co. is acting as the sole book-running manager for the offering.
The Company also has granted to the underwriter a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 1,200,000 shares of common stock at the public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions. The gross proceeds to Allena, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses and assuming no exercise of the underwriter’s option to purchase additional common stock, are expected to be approximately $10.0 million. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from this offering for working capital and other general corporate purposes.
The shares of common stock are being offered by the Company pursuant to a “shelf” registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-228656) previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on December 3, 2018, and declared effective by the SEC on December 26, 2018. The offering of the shares of common stock is made only by means of a prospectus, including a prospectus supplement, forming a part of the effective registration statement. A preliminary prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus relating to, and describing the terms of, the offering will be filed with the SEC and will be available on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. Electronic copies of the preliminary prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus may also be obtained, when available, by contacting H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC at 430 Park Avenue, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10022, by telephone at (646) 975-6996 or e-mail at placements@hcwco.com.
This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction.
About Allena Pharmaceuticals
Allena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a late-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing and commercializing first-in-class, oral enzyme therapeutics to treat patients with rare and severe metabolic and kidney disorders. Allena’s lead product candidate, reloxaliase, is currently being evaluated in a pivotal Phase 3 clinical program for the treatment of enteric hyperoxaluria, a metabolic disorder characterized by markedly elevated urinary oxalate levels and commonly associated with kidney stones, chronic kidney disease and other serious kidney disorders. Allena is also developing ALLN-346 for the treatment of hyperuricemia in the setting of gout and advanced chronic kidney disease, with a Phase 1b multiple-ascending dose study and a Phase 2 proof-of-concept study planned for 2021.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, without limitation, statements regarding the completion of the public offering, the satisfaction of customary closing conditions related to the public offering and the intended use of net proceeds from the public offering, statements regarding implementation of the amended trial design for URIROX-2 , the timing of sample size reassessments and interim analyses during the URIROX-2 trial, Allena’s ability to utilize the accelerated approval regulatory pathway for reloxaliase, statements concerning the future clinical, regulatory and commercial potential of reloxaliase, statements regarding the Allena’s development of ALLN-346, statements regarding Allena’s financial position and need for capital. In addition, it should be noted that additional capital will be required to complete the planned URIROX-2 clinical trial, including the planned interim analysis at the first sample size reassessment, which capital may not be available to Allena on terms that are acceptable to it, if at all. If adequate funds are not available on a timely basis, Allena may be required to delay, limit, reduce or terminate its clinical development of reloxaliase. The impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus on Allena’s business, the biotech sector generally and the broader macroeconomic environment is uncertain and could harm Allena’s business by delaying regulatory review timelines, clinical development plans and our ability to raise necessary capital. Furthermore, Allena does not have sufficient cash to operate its business for the next 12 months, which raises substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. Allena will require additional capital to fund its planned operations, which may not be available to it on attractive terms or at all. If the company is unable to secure additional capital, it will be forced to delay, limit, reduce or terminate its development of reloxaliase and may not be able to continue as a going concern. Any forward-looking statements in this press release are based on management’s current expectations of future events and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: market and other conditions, the risk that the results of the URIROX-1 clinical trial may not be replicated in the URIROX-2 or other clinical trials of reloxaliase; the risk that the reduction in 24-hour UOx excretion observed in the placebo arm ofthe URIROX-1 trial may be observed in the URIROX-2 or other clinical trials of reloxaliase, which may have a negative impact on Allena’s ability to secure regulatory approval for this product candidate; the risk that results of earlier studies, or interim results, may not be predictive of future clinical trial results, and planned and ongoing studies may not establish an adequate safety or efficacy profile for reloxaliase to support regulatory approval or the use of the accelerated approval regulatory pathway; risks related to Allena’s ability to utilize the accelerated approval pathway for reloxaliase, including the risk that available data at the time of any sample size re-estimation or interim analysis conducted during the URIROX-2 trial may not be sufficient to demonstrate an increased probability of kidney stone events in patients with enteric hyperoxaluria and increasing UOx levels; the risk that the FDA may require that Allena increase the sample size or duration of treatment following the sample size reassessments to be conducted in accordance with the adaptive design element of the trial or otherwise collect additional clinical data from the URIROX-2 or other clinical trials prior to submitting a BLA for reloxaliase; risks associated with Allena’s ability to enroll a sufficient number of patients to adequately power URIROX-2 in order to achieve ultimate statistical success for kidney stone disease progression in the long-term follow-up phase of the trial; risks related to Allena’s use of UOx and/or POx as surrogate endpoints in its ongoing clinical trials, neither of which it believes have been previously utilized as biomarkers to support regulatory approval of other drug candidates, and the risks related to validating that reductions in UOx and/or POx correlate with meaningful clinical benefit; risks associated with obtaining, maintaining and protecting intellectual property; risks associated with Allena’s ability to enforce its patents against infringers and defend its patent portfolio against challenges from third parties; the risk of competition from other companies developing products for similar uses; risk associated with Allena’s financial condition and its need to obtain additional funding to support its business activities, including the future clinical development of reloxaliase and its ability to continue as a going concern; risks associated with Allena’s dependence on third parties; and risks related to the COVID-19 coronavirus. For a discussion of other risks and uncertainties, and other important factors, any of which could cause Allena’s actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see the section entitled “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of Part I of Allena’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2020, as well as discussions of potential risks, uncertainties and other important factors in Allena’s subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All information in this press release is as of the date of the release, and Allena undertakes no duty to update this information unless required by law.
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