MONTREAL, Aug. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. (“ProMetic”) announces today that it has reached an understanding with a fully integrated, U.S.-based, biotechnology company with respect to the development and global commercialization of several biopharmaceutical products in ProMetic’s Protein Technology Division.
In addition to licensing, development and milestone fees as well as on-going royalties on sales of products, the definitive agreements will provide for an initial strategic investment in ProMetic of $7 million at a share price of $0.47. This transaction is anticipated to provide a significant funding commitment towards the development and commercialization of the products, which will contribute to ProMetic’s revenue growth as early as 2008.
The definitive agreements will also provide for possible additional investments in ProMetic, which may be triggered by either the biotechnology company or ProMetic, upon fulfillment of certain predetermined conditions. Further, the definitive agreements will provide the biotechnology company to have a right to representation on ProMetic’s board of directors.
Definitive agreements regarding the deal, which will be subject to customary closing conditions, including TSX approval, are intended to be negotiated and executed in the following weeks.
The Company will file a short form base shelf prospectus or “shelf registration” with Canadian securities regulators in part to facilitate the completion of this transaction.
About ProMetic Life Sciences Inc.
ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. (www.prometic.com) is a biopharmaceutical company specialized in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of a variety of commercial applications derived from its proprietary Mimetic Ligand(TM) technology. This technology is used in large-scale purification of biologics and the elimination of pathogens. ProMetic is also active in therapeutic drug development with the mission to bring to market effective, innovative, lower cost, less toxic products for the treatment of hematology and cancer. Its drug discovery platform is focused on replacing complex, expensive proteins with synthetic “drug-like” protein mimetics. Headquartered in Montreal (Canada), ProMetic has R&D facilities in the U.K., the U.S. and Canada, manufacturing facilities in the U.K. and business development activities in the U.S., Europe, Asia and in the Middle-East.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements about ProMetic’s objectives, strategies and businesses that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements are “forward-looking” because they are based on our current expectations about the markets we operate in and on various estimates and assumptions. Actual events or results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements if known or unknown risks affect our business, or if our estimates or assumptions turn out to be inaccurate. Such risks and assumptions include, but are not limited to, ProMetic’s ability to develop, manufacture, and successfully commercialize value-added pharmaceutical products, the availability of funds and resources to pursue R&D projects, the successful and timely completion of clinical studies, the ability of ProMetic to take advantage of business opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry, uncertainties related to the regulatory process and general changes in economic conditions. You will find a more detailed assessment of the risks that could cause actual events or results to materially differ from our current expectations on page 21 of ProMetic’s Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2007, under the heading “Risk Factors”. As a result, we cannot guarantee that any forward-looking statement will materialize. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statement even if new information becomes available, as a result of future events or for any other reason, unless required by applicable securities laws and regulations.
CONTACT: Company inquiries: Pierre Laurin, President and CEO, ProMetic
Life Sciences Inc., (514) 341-2115, p.laurin@prometic.com; Anne Leduc,
Manager, Investor Relations & Communications, ProMetic Life Sciences Inc.,
(514) 341-2115, a.leduc@prometic.com; Media Relations: Jules Abraham,
Lippert/Heilshorn & Associates, (212) 838-3777, JAbraham@lhai.com; Dominic
Sicotte, Echoes Financial Network Inc., (514) 842-9551,
dsicotte@echoesfinancial.com