logo-loader

Faron Pharma raises quick-fire £12.8mln to fund development of two key drug candidates

Published: 16:31 22 Apr 2020 AEST

Faron Pharmaceuticals Ltd -

Faron Pharmaceuticals Oy (LON:FARN) NASDAQFIRSTNORTH:FARON) said it has raised £12.18mln (€14mln) by selling new shares in the business.

The group said the placing, announced on Tuesday after the market close, was significantly oversubscribed and comprises the issue of 2,719,002 Nordic placing shares at the Nordic issue price of €4.00 per share (representing a discount of 7.6% to the closing price of €4.33 on April 21 on Nasdaq First North) and up to 780,998 UK placing shares at the equivalent UK issue price of 348p per share. Faron shares closed trade in London on Tuesday at 395p each.

The cash will be used to expand the current phase I/II MATINS trial of its Clevegen precision immunotherapy candidate. It will also be deployed to pay for the company’s REMAP-CAP trial of Traumakine to assess the effect of interferon beta-1a in coronavirus (COVID-19).

The company said it is continuing to pursue licensing discussions and exploring third-party funding options for Traumakine. The company had funding of £6.3mln as at December 31, 2019.

In Tuesday's statement, Faron chief executive, Dr Markku Jalkanen said the injection of cash would help the company build on the progress of the last year as well as “bring significant value for shareholders during the next 8-12 months”.

“Clevegen has shown very promising clinical response in MATINS Part I stage, which we believe will transform into significant opportunity when the study moves to Part II-III expansion stages,” he explained.

“Traumakine, on the other hand, has a new corticosteroid-free setting through the global REMAP-CAP study, which we believe is one of the most important intensive care study of the current pandemic environment."

A 'thrilling' year ahead for Faron Pharmaceuticals with Phase III Traumakine...

Markku Jalkanen, chief executive at Faron Pharmaceuticals Oy (LON:FARN), caught up with Proactive following their £15mln funding aimed at accelerating the development of its two lead products. Jalkanen says the funds will allow them to prepare the way to market for Traumakine, a treatment...

on 21/2/18