MELBOURNE, Australia, Nov. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Starpharma Holdings Limited is pleased to announce a successful capital raising of A$15.6 million through a private placement to institutional and sophisticated investors, taking the company’s cash reserves to approximately A$24 million.
The lead investor in the placement was Orbis, an existing Starpharma shareholder and a highly regarded institutional fund manager. As a result of this additional investment Orbis will become a substantial shareholder in Starpharma. The company’s largest shareholder Acorn Capital also participated in the raising, along with several other existing and new institutional investors.
The placement is for 30 million shares at $0.52 per share, a 9.7% discount to the volume weighted average price of the Company’s shares over the prior 20 trading days. The placement was significantly oversubscribed and was managed by Shaw Corporate Finance.
The funds raised will primarily be used to finance a clinical trial program to develop VivaGel® for the treatment of bacterial vaginosis (BV) and to further strengthen the balance sheet for future development and partnering opportunities.
Dr Jackie Fairley, CEO of Starpharma said: “We are delighted with the success of this capital raising. The level of institutional demand was particularly high, and we appreciate the strong support received from both existing and new institutional shareholders.”
“These additional funds take the company to a new level by allowing us to progress VivaGel® as a BV treatment through to the completion of Phase 3 clinical trials to support licensing to a major marketing partner,” Dr Fairley added.
VivaGel® as a treatment for BV represents a significant development for Starpharma, with the global market for topical BV treatments alone estimated at approximately US$300-$350m.
“This is an exciting extension to the development program of VivaGel®. Bacterial vaginosis is the most common vaginal infection worldwide with more than 21 million women in the US alone suffering from the infection,” said Dr Fairley.
Starpharma already has a significant licensing deal with SSL (owners of Durex® brand) for use of VivaGel® as a condom coating, NIH funded development programs for VivaGel® for the prevention of viral sexually transmitted infections, programs focused on drug delivery partnered with Elanco (Eli Lilly) and Stiefel (GSK), and a program for modifying pesticides with a multi-billion dollar US agrochemical company.
As the shares issued via the private placement fall within the 15% threshold permitted by the ASX Listing Rules, shareholder approval is not required.
About Starpharma
Starpharma Holdings Limited (ASX: SPL; OTCQX: SPHRY) is a world leader in the development of dendrimer technology for pharmaceutical, life-science and other applications. SPL has two operating companies, Starpharma Pty Ltd in Melbourne, Australia and DNT, Inc in the USA. Products based on SPL’s dendrimer technology are already on the market in the form of diagnostic elements and laboratory reagents through licence arrangements with partners including Siemens and Merck KgA.
The Company’s lead pharmaceutical development product is VivaGel® (SPL7013 Gel), a vaginal microbicide designed to prevent the transmission of STIs, including HIV and genital herpes. In September 2008 Starpharma signed a full licence agreement with SSL International plc (LSE: SSL - News) to develop a VivaGel® coated condom.
For further information:
Media Buchan Consulting Kyahn Williamson Tel: +61 3 9866 4722 Mob: +61 401 018 828 kwilliamson@bcg.com.au
Ellie Papathanasiou Tel: +61 3 9866 4722 Mob: +61 405 342 490 epapathanasiou@bcg.com.au
Starpharma www.starpharma.com
Dr Jackie Fairley Chief Executive Officer +61 3 8532 2704
Ben Rogers Company Secretary +61 3 8532 2702 ben.rogers@starpharma.com
