Percheron Therapeutics has secured firm commitments for a $2.3 million institutional placement, providing what the company says is full funding for a new clinical trial of its lead drug candidate, HMBD-002, in acute myeloid leukaemia and myelodysplastic syndrome.
The Melbourne-based biotechnology company will issue new shares at 0.5 cents each, a price it said represented an 8.9 per cent premium to its 15-day volume-weighted average share price before a trading halt on 28 August.
Investors in the placement will also receive one free-attaching option for every two new shares issued. The options carry an exercise price of 1 cent and expire on 15 April 2028. Percheron intends to seek ASX quotation for the options, although they may remain unquoted if it cannot meet listing requirements.
The placement comprises 460 million new shares in total, subject in part to shareholder approval. The first tranche will involve 300 million shares issued under the company’s existing placement capacity, while a further 138 million shares and 69 million options will require shareholder approval at Percheron’s annual general meeting on 7 October.
A third tranche of up to 22 million shares and 11 million options is earmarked for director Dr Michael Baker and related parties, also subject to shareholder approval.
The funds will support an investigator-sponsored clinical trial at Vanderbilt Health in Nashville, Tennessee, examining HMBD-002 in patients with AML and MDS. HMBD-002 is a monoclonal antibody designed to target VISTA, an immune checkpoint regulator that may contribute to cancer cells evading immune attack.
Percheron chair Dr Charmaine Gittleson said the raise would allow the company to move quickly towards starting recruitment for the study.
“This transaction fully funds the recently announced clinical trial in AML that is to be performed by Vanderbilt Health,” she said. “We look forward to working closely with the Vanderbilt team to expedite commencement of the study.”
The company said the placement had attracted support from both existing and new investors. Blue Ocean Equities and Cygnet Capital acted as joint lead managers.
Tranche one shares are expected to settle on 7 September and begin trading the following day. If shareholders approve the remaining issues, the remaining shares and options are expected to be allotted on 15 October.
Percheron has previously issued 294.9 million unquoted options through an entitlement offer announced in March. It said it would investigate whether those options could also be quoted on the ASX.
HMBD-002 has completed a Phase 1 trial in patients with advanced cancers, where Percheron said it was generally safe and well tolerated. The Vanderbilt study will be the next test of whether the VISTA-targeting approach can show clinical value in blood cancers.
