BETHESDA, Md., Nov. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Northwest Biotherapeutics, Inc. , today announced that it has obtained US$1.65 million in funding pursuant to Loan Agreements and Promissory Notes (the “Notes”) with SDS Capital Group SPC, Ltd (“SDS”) and a group of private investors (the “Private Investors”). A significant portion of the proceeds will provide strategic funding for expansion of NWBT’s programs and capacity outside the United States, in locations other than Switzerland.
Under the Notes, SDS and the Private Investors have loaned the Company US$1.65 million. The Notes are unsecured obligations of the Company and accrue interest at the rate of 12% per year. The maturity date of the notes will be April 21, 2009. The Notes carry 50% warrant coverage (i.e., the aggregate exercise price of the Warrants will be equal to fifty percent of the financing). The Warrants will be exercisable for common stock of the company at a price of US$0.41, per share (the “Warrants”). The Warrants are exercisable immediately, and will expire 5 years from the date of issuance. The Notes may be prepaid at the discretion of the Company at any time prior to maturity, without any prepayment penalty; however, prepayment will not affect the Warrants.
The Company granted SDS and the Private Investors piggyback registration rights for any shares of the Company’s common stock issued under the Notes. The Notes also contain customary representations, warranties and covenants. SDS will receive certain rights relating to subsequent financings, subject to the Company’s right to pre-pay SDS and avoid the rights being triggered. Under these rights, the Company will notify SDS of any subsequent financings that take place while this SDS Note is outstanding, and SDS will have an opportunity to participate. However, SDS’ right to notice and participation are subject to the Company’s right to pay off SDS’ Note prior to the applicability of these rights, and to avoid the rights being triggered.
The Company will use the proceeds from these Notes for operating expenses and other obligations of the Company, and a significant portion of the proceeds will be used to provide strategic funding of the Company’s business plan and strategy for countries other than the US and Switzerland. The uses of proceeds will include establishment of GMP manufacturing facilities, regulatory filings, clinical trial expenses, product manufacturing and sales, and other related expenses.
“We are very pleased to have completed another interim financing despite severely adverse general market conditions,” said NWBT’s Chief Executive Officer Alton Boynton. “We are especially pleased to have received a second round of investment from SDS Capital, a well known institutional investor with a highly successful track record of investments in the healthcare sector.”
The US$1.65 million loan received by the Company will be sufficient to fund its cash needs into December, 2008. The Company remains in an advanced stage of negotiations with several different providers for additional near-term funding and longer term funding, which it hopes to complete by the end of the year.
The Company will need to raise additional capital to fund its clinical trials and other operating activities and to repay indebtedness in due course. Shareholders should be aware that if the Company’s capital raising efforts are unsuccessful, this will have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position and operations.
About NWBT
Northwest Biotherapeutics, Inc. is a biotechnology company focused on developing immunotherapy products that treat cancers more effectively than current treatments, with limited toxicity, on a cost-effective basis. The Company has two broad platform technologies: dendritic cell-based vaccines, and therapeutic antibodies. The Company is currently conducting a large clinical trial in Glioblastoma multiforme, which is designed and powered to serve as a pivotal trial. The Company has also received clearance from the FDA for a large Phase III trial in prostate cancer, and clearance from the FDA for Phase I trials in five other cancers. The Company has started, and is currently enrolling patients in, a Phase I/II trial with DCVax(R) for recurrent ovarian cancer. The Company also has a second technology platform, involving monoclonal antibodies to CXCR4, which is at the late pre-clinical development stage.
For further information, please visit the company web site at http://www.nwbio.com.
Disclaimer
Statements made in this news release that are not historical facts, including statements concerning the Company’s plans to move its programs forward, either in the U.S. or outside the U.S., statements regarding the Company’s clinical trials and other business development activities, and statements regarding its fundraising activities, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “expects,” “believes,” “intends,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statement. Specifically, there are a number of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, such as risks and uncertainties regarding the Company’s ability to secure additional financing or raise additional capital, risks related to the Company’s ability to enroll patients in its clinical trials and complete the trials on a timely basis, the uncertainty of the clinical trials process, uncertainties about the Company’s ability to deliver its products to patients and charge patients, uncertainties about the timely performance of third parties, and whether the Company’s products will demonstrate safety and efficacy. Additional information on these and other factors, which could affect the Company’s results, is included in its Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filings, including in the Risk Factors section of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007 and in its recently filed Form S-1. Finally, there may be other factors not mentioned above or included in the Company’s SEC filings or recently filed Form S-1 that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statement. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or developments, except as required by securities laws.
CONTACT: Alton Boynton, +1-240-497-9024, for Northwest Biotherapeutics,
Inc.
Web site: http://www.nwbio.com/
