Centessa Pharmaceuticals Announces $300 Million Financing Agreement with Oberland Capital
October 04 2021 - 7:00AM
Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc (“Centessa” or “Company”) (Nasdaq:
CNTA), a clinical-stage company leveraging its innovative
asset-centric business model to discover, develop and ultimately
deliver impactful medicines to patients, today announced that it
has entered into a $300 million financing agreement
with funds managed by Oberland Capital Management LLC
(“Oberland Capital”).
Oberland Capital will purchase up to $300 million of
6-year, interest-only, senior secured notes (“Notes”) from the
Company under the following terms:
- $75 million funded October 4, 2021 (“First Purchase Date”)
- $125 million available to be funded in tranches of $75 million
and $50 million within 24 months of First Purchase Date at the
option of the Company
- $100 million available to fund M&A, in-licensing, or other
strategic transactions, at the option of the Company and Oberland
Capital
- The Notes are interest-only for the full 6-year term; principal
on the Notes will be due October 4, 2027, with certain contingent
and capped payments due up to ten years from First Purchase
Date
- Flexible structure with no financial covenants
This $300 million facility, combined with the Company’s existing
cash balance as of June 30, 2021, provides access to over $900
million to advance the Company’s pipeline of clinical and
pre-clinical programs and enables the Company to pursue strategic
business development opportunities.
“Our ability to secure such a flexible, long-term financing
arrangement with a 6-year, interest-only period is directly enabled
by our broad portfolio of uncorrelated programs based on compelling
biology. On the heels of our recent positive Phase 2 readout of
SerpinPC and upcoming registrational trial for lixivaptan, this
financing will allow us to further scale up our development
activities and provide enhanced balance sheet flexibility for
pipeline expansion,” said Gregory Weinhoff, MD, MBA, Chief
Financial Officer of Centessa.
“We are excited to be partnering with Centessa to help bring
their portfolio of innovative product candidates to patients as
quickly as possible,” said Andrew Rubinstein, Managing Partner of
Oberland Capital. “Our flexible financing structure is designed to
allow the Centessa team to maintain maximum optionality as their
pipeline matures, with two programs entering potential
registrational studies next year and multiple INDs expected.”
Additional details regarding the financing are available in the
Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission today. The foregoing summary of certain terms
of the financing agreement and related agreements is qualified in
its entirety by reference to the full text of such agreements,
which will be filed as exhibits to our next Form 10-Q.
About Centessa PharmaceuticalsCentessa
Pharmaceuticals plc aims to bring impactful new medicines to
patients by combining the strengths of an asset-centric model with
the benefits of scale and diversification typical of larger R&D
organizations. The asset-centric model refers to a highly
specialized, singular-focused company that is led by a team of
well-recognized subject matter experts. Centessa’s asset-centric
companies’ programs range from discovery-stage to late-stage
development and include diverse therapeutic areas such as oncology,
hematology, immunology/inflammation, neuroscience, hepatology,
pulmonology and nephrology. For more information, visit
www.centessa.com.
About Oberland CapitalOberland Capital, a
private investment firm with over $2.25 billion in capital
commitments since inception, is focused exclusively on investing in
the global healthcare industry and specializes in flexible
investment structures customized to meet the specific capital
requirements and strategic objectives of its transaction partners.
Oberland Capital’s broad suite of financing solutions includes
monetization of royalty streams, acquisition of future product
revenues, creation of project-based financing structures, and
investments in traditional debt and equity. With a combination of
deep industry knowledge and extensive structured finance
experience, the Oberland Capital team has a history of creating
value for its transaction partners. The firm was founded in 2013 by
Jean-Pierre Naegeli and Andrew Rubinstein.
Forward Looking Statements This press release
contains forward-looking statements. These statements may be
identified by words such as “aims,” “anticipates,” “believes,”
“could,” “estimates,” “expects,” “forecasts,” “goal,” “intends,”
“may,” “plans,” “possible,” “potential,” “seeks,” “will,” and
variations of these words or similar expressions that are intended
to identify forward-looking statements. Any such statements in this
press release that are not statements of historical fact may be
deemed to be forward-looking statements including statements
related to the Company’s ability to deliver impactful medicines to
patients; our asset-centric business model and the intended
advantages and benefits thereof; research and clinical development
plans, including with respect to our product candidates, their
therapeutic potential and expected clinical trials; our strategy;
our current cash position and runway and our intentions and plans
with respect to our financing arrangement with Oberland Capital,
including the use of proceeds therefrom.
Any forward-looking statements in this press release are based
on our current expectations, estimates and projections only as of
the date of this release and are subject to a number of risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
and adversely from those set forth in or implied by such
forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include,
but are not limited to, risks related to our ability to maintain
our financing facility with Oberland Capital; our ability to repay
amounts drawn under such facility; our ability to protect and
maintain our intellectual property position; business, regulatory,
economic and competitive risks, uncertainties, contingencies and
assumptions about the Company; risks inherent in developing
products and technologies; future results from our ongoing and
planned clinical trials; our ability to obtain adequate financing
to fund our planned clinical trials and other expenses; trends in
the industry; the legal and regulatory framework for the industry;
future expenditures risks related to our asset-centric corporate
model; the risk that any one or more of our product candidates will
not be successfully developed and commercialized; the risk that the
results of preclinical studies or clinical studies will not be
predictive of future results in connection with future studies; and
risks related to the COVID-19 pandemic including the effects of the
Delta variant. These and other risks concerning our programs and
operations are described in additional detail in our most recent
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and our other reports, which are on
file with the SEC. We explicitly disclaim any obligation to update
any forward-looking statements except to the extent required by
law.
Contacts:
Investor Contact: |
Media Contacts: |
Jennifer Porcelli, Head of
Investor Relations |
US |
Centessa Pharmaceuticals |
Dan Budwick, 1AB |
jennifer.porcelli@centessa.com |
dan@1abmedia.com |
|
|
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UK/Greater
Europe |
|
Mary Clark, Optimum Strategic
Communications |
|
centessa@optimumcomms.com |
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