Genocea Biosciences Announces Proposed Concurrent Public Offerings of Common Stock and Class A Warrants and Series A Convertible Preferred Stock and Class A Warrants

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan. 16, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Genocea Biosciences (NASDAQ:GNCA), a biopharmaceutical company that discovers and develops novel cancer vaccines, announced today that it intends to offer and sell in concurrent underwritten public offerings (i) shares of its common stock and Class A warrants to purchase shares of common stock and (ii) shares of its Series A convertible preferred stock and Class A warrants to purchase shares of its common stock. In connection with the common stock and Class A warrants offering, Genocea expects to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase additional shares of common stock and/or Class A warrants, equal to 15% of the number of securities sold in this offering. The offerings are subject to market and other conditions, and there can be no assurance as to whether or when either offering may be completed, or as to the actual size or terms of either offering. All the shares and warrants in the offerings are being offered by Genocea.

Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. is acting as the sole book-running manager for the offerings. Needham & Company and Robert W. Baird & Co are acting as the lead managers for the offerings.

Genocea intends to use net proceeds from the concurrent offerings for the following purposes: to support the ongoing development of its GEN-009 program, including filing an IND with the FDA and commencing a Phase 1/2a clinical proof of concept trial, and for working capital and other general corporate purposes.

The securities described above are being offered by the Company pursuant to a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 previously filed with and declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on May 14, 2015. A preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to the securities being offered will be filed for each offering with the SEC on January 16, 2018 and will be available on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. Copies of each preliminary prospectus supplement (when available) and the accompanying prospectus relating to the securities being offered in each offering may also be obtained from Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., Attention: Capital Markets, 499 Park Ave., 6th Floor, New York, New York 10022, or by telephone at 212-829-7122, or by e-mail at prospectus@cantor.com.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy and there shall not be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. Any offer, if at all, will be made only by means of the prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus for each offering forming a part of the effective registration statement.

About Genocea Biosciences, Inc.
Genocea is harnessing the power of T cell immunity to develop life-changing vaccines and immunotherapies. While traditional immunotherapy discovery methods have largely used predictive methods to propose T cell targets, or antigens, Genocea has successfully developed ATLAS™, its proprietary technology platform, to identify clinically relevant antigens of T cells based on actual human immune responses. Genocea uses ATLAS in immuno-oncology applications to develop neoantigen cancer vaccines while also exploring partnership opportunities for general cancer vaccines and a vaccine targeting cancers caused by Epstein-Barr Virus. Genocea expects to begin clinical development of its first neoantigen cancer vaccine, GEN-009, in 2018. Genocea is exploring strategic alternatives for GEN-003, its Phase 3-ready immunotherapy candidate for the treatment of genital herpes.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements, including statements relating to the proposed underwritten public offerings and the use of the net proceeds therefrom, within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Genocea cautions that these forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which change over time. Applicable risks and uncertainties include those identified under the heading “Risk Factors” included in Genocea’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2017 and any subsequent SEC filings, including the registration statement and preliminary prospectus supplement related to the proposed offerings. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and Genocea assumes no duty to update forward-looking statements.