Curasight resolves on a rights issue of up to DKK 51.2 million to accelerate its therapeutic strategy
COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Feb. 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Curasight A/S "Curasight" or the "Company" – (TICKER: CURAS) has today resolved on a new issue of shares with preferential rights for the Company's existing shareholders of up to DKK 51.2 million before transaction costs (the "Rights Issue"). The proceeds are intended to be used to strengthen the Company's capital structure and secure funding for the acceleration of clinical activities, including the preparation, planning and enrolment of the first patients in a therapy phase I/IIa basket trial in various cancer types, as well as to strengthen Curasight's pipeline through preclinical development of new peptide-based radioligands.
"We are committed to advancing the theranostic approach in cancer care, aiming to provide clinicians and patients with innovative solutions that support a combined diagnostic and treatment approach for certain cancers. The Rights Issue enables us to expedite our therapeutic development activities including the launch of our therapeutic basket trial, so that we can develop both uTRACE® and uTREAT® in parallel. Additionally, it will allow us to secure a robust balance sheet that both supports our accelerated clinical strategy and ensures we are in a strong position when negotiating potential partnerships." said CEO Ulrich Krasilnikoff.
Summary of the Rights Issue
- Each existing share in the Company, as of the record date on 22 February 2024, entitles the holder to one (1) subscription right. Seven (7) subscription rights entitle the holder to subscribe for one (1) new share at a subscription price of DKK 18 per share.
- The subscription period runs from 23 February 2024, up to and including 7 March 2024.
- The last day of trading in the shares with the right to receive subscription rights in the Rights Issue is 20 February 2024.
- The Company's management team, consisting of Ulrich Krasilnikoff (CEO and CFO), Andreas Kjær (CSO/CMO and co-founder) and Hanne Damgaard Jensen (CDO/COO), have committed to subscribe for shares in the rights issue for a total of approx. DKK 1.3 million, corresponding to 2.5 percent of the rights issue.
- The Company intends to publish an information memorandum regarding the Rights Issue around 22 February 2024 (the "Information Memorandum").
- The proceeds are intended to be used to strengthen the Company's capital structure and secure funding for the acceleration of clinical activities, including the preparation, planning and enrolment of the first patients in a therapy phase I/IIa basket trial in various cancer types (brain, neuroendocrine, head and neck, non-small cell lung and pancreatic cancer), as well as to strengthen Curasight's preclinical pipeline through development of new peptide-based radioligands.
Reasons for the Rights Issue
Curasight focuses on addressing the need for improved diagnosis and treatment of several cancer indications and has developed a highly specific PET imaging ligand, uTRACE (radioactive tracer) and uTREAT - both targeting the uPAR receptor. uPAR is expressed in many types of human cancers and the expression levels of uPAR have been shown to be strongly associated with metastatic disease, i.e. cancer aggressiveness, and subsequent poor prognosis. Curasight's clinical PET ligand uTRACE has been succesfully validated in more than 400 patients in several clinical PET imaging trials with uTRACE in brain, prostate, head & neck, neuroendocrine, oral, breast and urinary bladder cancer with promising results.
Based on these results with uTRACE, combined with the strong preclinical results with uTREAT, both targeting the strong biomarker (uPAR) in human cancer, Curasight's Board and management projects that uTREAT, together with its companion diagnostics, the uPAR-PET imaging ligand uTRACE, could become a successful radioligand therapy. It is foreseen that such a targeted radioligand therapy could become a game-changer in the treatment and management of cancer patients across several cancer indications.
Curasight will therefore pursue uPAR targeted radioligand therapy using the uTRACE ligand but "armed" with radiation therapy. By combining anti-cancer radiotherapy uTREAT (therapy) with uTRACE (diagnostics), the technology jointly known as theranostics, is foreseen to treat cancer in a much more gentle and efficient way than today's method of external radiation therapy.
To further advance and commercialize the uPAR Theranostics platform with uTREAT and uTRACE for improved diagnosis and treatment across several cancer diseases, Curasight is now conducting a Right Issue of shares of up to DKK 51.2 million.
The proceeds from the Rights Issue will primarily finance the preparation, planning and enrolment of the first patients in a therapeutic phase I/IIa basket trial that will in parallel assess the therapeutic safety and efficacy of uTREAT in brain cancer (glioblastoma multiforme), neuroendocrine tumors, head and neck cancer, non-small scell lung cancer, and pancreatic cancer. Furthermore, the proceeds from the issue will be used to broaden the pipeline through development of new next generation peptide-based radioligand therapies.
Subscription Commitments
The Company's management team, consisting of Ulrich Krasilnikoff (CEO and CFO), Andreas Kjær (CSO/CMO and co-founder) and Hanne Damgaard Jensen (CDO/COO), have committed to subscribe for shares in the rights issue for a total of approx. DKK 1.3 million, corresponding to 2.5 percent of the rights issue.
Information Memorandum
Full terms and conditions for the Rights Issue as well as other information about the Company and further information about subscription commitments, will be included in the Information Memorandum that the Company is expected to publish around 22 February 2024.
Preliminary Timetable for the Rights Issue
20 February 2024 |
Last day of trading in the share including the right to receive subscription rights |
21 February 2024 |
First day of trading in the share excluding the right to receive subscription rights |
21 February – 5 March 2024 |
Trading in subscription rights |
22 February 2024 |
Record date for the Rights Issue |
22 February 2024 |
Estimated date for the publication of the Information Memorandum |
23 February – 7 March 2024 |
Subscription period |
23 February until the Rights Issue is registered with the Danish Business Authority |
Trading in temporary shares |
Around 12 March 2024 |
Estimated publication of the outcome in the Rights Issue |
Shares and Dilution
Assuming full subscription in the Rights Issue, the share capital will increase by DKK 142,099.20, from DKK 994,694.55 to DKK 1,136,793.75 through the issuance of 2,841,984 shares, resulting in the total number of shares increasing from 19,893,891 to 22,735,875, representing a dilution effect of approximately 12.5 percent of the share capital and number of shares. Shareholders who do not participate in the Rights Issue have the opportunity to financially compensate themselves for this dilution by selling their subscription rights.
Advisors
Redeye AB is acting as a financial advisor to Curasight. DLA Piper Denmark Advokatpartnerselskab is acting as the legal adviser of Curasight. VP Euronext Securities A/S is the Company's issuing agent and Nordic Issuing is acting as the settlement agent.
For more information regarding Curasight, please contact:
Ulrich Krasilnikoff, CEO
Phone: +45 22 83 01 60
E-mail: uk@curasight.com
www.curasight.com
The following files are available for download:
Curasight Press Release #2 - 13 February 2024 |
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