Plus Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: PSTV) (the “Company,” or
“Plus Therapeutics”), a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company
developing targeted radiotherapeutics with advanced platform
technologies for central nervous system (CNS) cancers, announced
today that it has closed a private placement with aggregate initial
upfront proceeds of approximately $3.7 million and received a $2.0
million advance payment from CPRIT as part of its existing $17.6
million grant award. The funding from the private placement and the
CPRIT advance will support the Company’s clinical development of
Rhenium (186Re) Obisbemeda for leptomeningeal metastases (LM), as
well as further development of the Company’s CNSide LM diagnostic
test as a pivotal trial endpoint.
“We are grateful for the enthusiasm and ongoing
support from both existing investors and key funding agencies,
including CPRIT, the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S.
Department of Defense,” said Marc H. Hedrick, M.D., Plus
Therapeutics’ President and Chief Executive Officer. “This capital,
along with expected grant allocations later in 2025, is expected to
fully support the completion of two planned LM trials,
strategically positioning the company for a pivotal trial in
2026."
Private Placement Financing
The private placement comprised the issuance and
sale of secured convertible promissory notes, or Funding Notes, in
the aggregate amount of $3,362,251 and common stock purchase
warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 3,002,009 shares of the
Company common stock at an exercise price of $1.12 per share. The
notes have a maturity date of one year from the closing of the
financing and are convertible in future financings of the Company
or into common stock at the election of the investors. The
financing includes participation from AIGH Capital Management LLC
with additional participation from existing healthcare-focused
institutional investors.
The accompanying Warrants will be exercisable
until the five-year anniversary of the closing of the
financing.
The Notes are convertible, under certain
circumstances, to shares of common stock of the Company at an
exercise price of $1.12 per share. The Notes are senior,
secured obligations of the Company. The Notes bear interest at the
rate of ten percent (10%) per annum, payable on the last business
day of each quarter, except as provided therein.
The gross proceeds to the Company from the
private placement were approximately $3.7 million, before
deducting offering expenses payable by the Company. The Company
currently intends to use the net proceeds from the private
placement for general corporate and working capital purposes.
The securities offered in the private placement
and described above were offered in transactions not involving a
public offering under Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of
1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and/or Rule 506(b) of
Regulation D promulgated thereunder and have not been registered
under the Securities Act or applicable state securities laws.
Accordingly, the securities in the private placement may not be
reoffered or resold in the United States except pursuant
to an effective registration statement with the SEC or an
applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the
Securities Act and such applicable state securities laws.
This press release does not constitute an offer
to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the securities, nor
shall there be any sale of the securities in any state in which
such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the
registration or qualification under the securities laws of such
state. Any offering of the securities under the resale registration
statement will only be made by means of a prospectus.
CPRIT Funding Advance
In addition to the $3.7 million private
placement financing from existing investors, the Company announced
a $2.0 million advance payment from CPRIT as part of its existing
$17.6 million grant award. The funding will support and accelerate
the Company’s clinical development of Rhenium (186Re) Obisbemeda
for the ReSPECT-LM P2a single-dose expansion trial and further
develop the Company’s CNSide LM diagnostic test as a key pivotal
trial endpoint.
To date, the Company has received multiple
disbursements under its CPRIT grant. Following this $2.0 million
advance payment, approximately $5.2 million remains from the
original $17.6 million grant award.
Exchange and Financing
Waiver
On February 13, 2025, the Company also issued
secured convertible promissory notes, or Exchange Notes, in the
aggregate amount of $3,188,922 in exchange for existing investors
agreeing to cancel 3,543,247 Series A common stock purchase
warrants issued by the Company in May 2024 and waive certain
existing restrictions on the Company’s ability to raise capital.
The terms of the Exchange Notes are substantially similar to the
terms of the Funding Notes.
Additional information on the terms of the
Funding Notes, Warrants, Exchange Notes and related matters can be
found in the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K that is being
filed by the Company on February 18, 2025.
About Leptomeningeal Metastases (LM)
LM is a rare complication of cancer in which the
primary cancer spreads to the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and
leptomeninges surrounding the brain and spinal cord. All
malignancies originating from solid tumors, primary brain tumors,
or hematological malignancies have this LM complication potential
with breast cancer as the most common cancer linked to LM, with
3-5% of breast cancer patients developing LM. Additionally, lung
cancer, GI cancers and melanoma can also spread to the CSF and
result in LM. LM occurs in approximately 5% of people with cancer
and is usually terminal with 1-year and 2-year survival of just 7%
and 3%, respectively. The incidence of LM is on the rise, partly
because cancer patients are living longer and partly because many
standard chemotherapies cannot reach sufficient concentrations in
the spinal fluid to kill the tumor cells, yet there are no
FDA-approved therapies specifically for LM patients, who often
succumb to this complication within weeks to several months, if
untreated.
About Rhenium (186Re)
obisbemeda
Rhenium (186Re) obisbemeda is a novel injectable
radiotherapy specifically formulated to deliver direct targeted
high dose radiation in CNS tumors in a safe, effective, and
convenient manner to optimize patient outcomes. Rhenium (186Re)
obisbemeda has the potential to reduce off target risks and improve
outcomes for CNS cancer patients, versus currently approved
therapies, with a more targeted and potent radiation dose.
Rhenium-186 is an ideal radioisotope for CNS therapeutic
applications due to its short half-life, beta energy for destroying
cancerous tissue, and gamma energy for real-time imaging. Rhenium
(186Re) obisbemeda is being evaluated for the treatment of
recurrent glioblastoma and leptomeningeal metastases in the
ReSPECT-GBM and ReSPECT-LM clinical trials. ReSPECT-GBM is
supported by an award from the National Cancer Institute (NCI),
part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), and
ReSPECT-LM is funded by a three-year $17.6M grant by the Cancer
Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT).
About the Cancer Prevention &
Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT)
CPRIT was created by the Texas Legislature and
approved by a statewide vote in 2007 to lead the Lone Star State’s
fight against cancer. In 2019, Texas voters again voted
overwhelmingly to continue CPRIT with an additional $3 billion for
a total $6 billion investment in cancer research and
prevention.
To date, CPRIT has awarded over $3 billion in
grants to Texas research institutions and organizations through its
academic research, prevention and product development research
programs. CPRIT has recruited 281 distinguished researchers,
supported the establishment, expansion or relocation of 52
companies to Texas and generated over $7.66 billion in additional
public and private investment. CPRIT funding has advanced
scientific and clinical knowledge and provided 8.2 million
life-saving cancer prevention and early detection services reaching
Texans from all 254 counties. Learn more at
https://cprit.texas.gov/about-us
About CNSide Diagnostic,
LLCCNSide Diagnostics, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of
Plus Therapeutics, Inc. that develops and commercializes
proprietary clinical diagnostic laboratory assays, such as CNSide,
designed to identify tumor cells that have metastasized to the
central nervous system in patients with carcinomas and melanomas.
The CNSide™ Assay Platform enables quantitative analysis and
molecular characterization of tumor cells and circulating tumor DNA
in the cerebrospinal fluid that inform and improve the clinical
management of patients with leptomeningeal metastases. The Company
is planning to commercialize CNSide in the U.S. in 2025.
About CNSide TestThe CNSide
Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) Assay Platform consists of four
laboratory developed tests (LDTs) used for diagnosis, treatment
selection, and treatment monitoring of patients with Leptomeningeal
Metastases (LM) from carcinomas or melanoma. The CNSide platform
facilitates tumor cell detection / enumeration and biomarker
identification using cellular assays (immunocytochemistry (ICC) and
fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH)) and molecular assays
(next generation sequencing (NGS)). The CNSide CSF tumor cell
enumeration LDT is currently being used in the ReSPECT-LM trial as
an exploratory endpoint and will be commercially available in
2025.
About Plus TherapeuticsPlus
Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company
developing targeted radiotherapeutics for difficult-to-treat
cancers of the central nervous system with the potential to enhance
clinical outcomes for patients. Combining image-guided local beta
radiation and targeted drug delivery approaches, the Company is
advancing a pipeline of product candidates with lead programs in
recurrent glioblastoma (GBM) and leptomeningeal metastases (LM).
The Company has built a supply chain through strategic partnerships
that enable the development, manufacturing and future potential
commercialization of its products. Plus Therapeutics is led by an
experienced and dedicated leadership team and has operations in key
cancer clinical development hubs, including Austin and San Antonio,
Texas. For more information, visit
https://plustherapeutics.com/.
Cautionary Statement Regarding
Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains
statements that may be deemed “forward-looking statements” within
the meaning of U.S. securities laws, including statements regarding
clinical trials, expected operations, use of proceeds and upcoming
developments. All statements in this press release other than
statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. These
forward-looking statements may be identified by future verbs, as
well as terms such as “expect” “potential,” “should,” “will,”
“future,” “predict,” “project,” “continue,” “anticipate,”
“estimate,” “plans,” “intends,” “may,” “could,” or other words that
convey uncertainty of the future events or outcomes to identify
these forward-looking statements. Our forward-looking statements
are based on current beliefs and expectations of our management
team and on information currently available to management that
involve risks, potential changes in circumstances, assumptions, and
uncertainties. All statements contained in this press release other
than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements,
including but not limited to statements regarding the Company’s use
of the estimated proceeds from the private placement, grants
amounts available to the Company under the CPRIT funding program,
the ReSPECT-LM clinical development program, including the
registrational trial for ReSPECT-LM, and the development of the
CNSide LM diagnostic test. Any or all of the forward-looking
statements may turn out to be wrong or be affected by inaccurate
assumptions we might make or by known or unknown risks and
uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are subject to
risks and uncertainties including, without limitation, risks
related to the fact that the Company may never receive proceeds
from the exercise of the warrants issued in the private placement;
the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern; the early
stage of the Company’s product candidates and therapies; the
results of the Company’s research and development activities,
including uncertainties relating to the clinical trials of its
product candidates and therapies; the Company’s liquidity and
capital resources and its ability to raise additional cash; the
outcome of the Company’s partnering/licensing efforts, risks
associated with laws or regulatory requirements applicable to it,
including the ability of the Company to come into compliance with
The Nasdaq Capital Market listing requirements; market conditions,
product performance, litigation or potential litigation, and
competition within the cancer diagnostics and therapeutics field;
ability to develop and protect proprietary intellectual property or
obtain licenses to intellectual property developed by others on
commercially reasonable and competitive terms; challenges
associated with radiotherapeutic manufacturing, production and
distribution capabilities necessary to support the Company’s
clinical trials and any commercial level product demand; and
material security breach or cybersecurity attack affecting the
Company’s operations or property. This list of risks,
uncertainties, and other factors is not complete. Plus Therapeutics
discusses some of these matters more fully, as well as certain risk
factors that could affect Plus Therapeutics’ business, financial
condition, results of operations, and prospects, in its reports
filed with the SEC, including Plus Therapeutics’ annual report on
Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, quarterly
reports on Form 10-Q, and current reports on Form 8-K. These
filings are available for review through the SEC’s website at
www.sec.gov. Any or all forward-looking statements Plus
Therapeutics makes may turn out to be wrong and can be affected by
inaccurate assumptions Plus Therapeutics might make or by known or
unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, including those
identified in this press release. Accordingly, you should not place
undue reliance on the forward-looking statements made in this press
release, which speak only as of its date. The Company assumes no
responsibility to update or revise any forward-looking statements
to reflect events, trends or circumstances after the date they are
made unless the Company has an obligation under U.S. federal
securities laws to do so.
Investor ContactCharles Y. Huang, MBADirector
of Capital Markets and Investor RelationsOffice: (202)-209-5751 |
Direct (301)-728-7222chuang@plustherapeutics.com
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