MARLBOROUGH, Mass.,
April 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/
-- RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation (NASDAQ: RXII), a
biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing
innovative therapies addressing major unmet medical needs using
RNA-targeted technologies, announced today that it has entered into
a purchase agreement (the "Purchase Agreement") with Lincoln Park
Capital Fund, LLC ("LPC"), a Chicago-based institutional investor, whereby
LPC is committed to purchase up to an aggregate of up to
$20 million shares of RXi common
stock over a 30-month term. The funds, in part, will serve to
advance research and development activities for the Company's
ophthalmological pre-clinical drug pipeline.
Under the terms of the Purchase Agreement, upon execution LPC
purchased 500,000 shares of common stock at $4.00 per share, a premium of 7.5% based on the
closing price of April 21, 2014, for
an initial investment of $2 million.
Concurrent with the execution, the Company issued to LPC 100,000
shares of our common stock as a commitment fee. Upon the filing of
the first investigational drug application for an ophthalmologic
project with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, LPC will make
an additional $1 million share
purchase at prevailing market prices of the Company's common stock.
In addition, at the sole discretion of the Company, we may sell up
to $17 million worth of common stock
to LPC over the 30-month term of the Purchase Agreement.
The Company plans to use the proceeds received for working
capital to support the advancement of the Company's ophthalmology
franchise and other general corporate purposes.
The securities described above are being offered pursuant to a
shelf registration statement (File No. 333-194956), which was
declared effective by the United States Securities and Exchange
Commission ("SEC") on April 18, 2014.
This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the
solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there
be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such
offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the
registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such
jurisdiction. The offering can be made only by means of a
prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus, copies of which
may be obtained at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov or by request
from the Company at 257 Simarano Drive, Suite 101, Marlborough, Massachusetts 01752, Attention:
Tamara McGrillen or by telephone at
(508) 929-3646.
About RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation
RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation (NASDAQ: RXII) is a
biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing
innovative therapies based on its proprietary, self-delivering RNAi
platform. Therapeutics that use RNA interference, or "RNAi," have
great promise because of their ability to down-regulate the
expression of a specific gene that may be over-expressed in a
disease condition. Building on the pioneering work of scientific
founder and Nobel Laureate Dr. Craig
Mello, a member of the RXi Scientific Advisory Board, RXi's
first RNAi product candidate, RXI‑109, targets connective tissue
growth factor (CTGF) to reduce dermal scarring (fibrosis), entered
into human clinical trials in June 2012.
RXi Pharmaceuticals' first clinical program involves RXI‑109, a
self-delivering RNAi compound (sd‑rxRNA®) developed for the
reduction of dermal scarring. RXI‑109 is designed to reduce the
expression of connective tissue growth factor ("CTGF"), a critical
regulator of biological pathways involved in fibrosis, including
scar formation in the skin. The first clinical trials with RXI‑109
showed excellent safety and tolerability with ascending single and
multiple doses, as well as dose dependent effects on the CTGF
protein and on the mRNA that controls production of this
protein.
RXi's sd‑rxRNA oligonucleotides are designed for therapeutic use
and have drug-like properties, such as high potency, target
specificity, serum stability, reduced immune response activation,
and efficient cellular uptake. These hybrid oligonucleotide
molecules combine the beneficial properties of conventional RNAi
and antisense technologies. This allows sd‑rxRNAs to achieve
efficient cellular uptake and potent, long-lasting intracellular
activity. For more information, please visit www.rxipharma.com.
About Lincoln Park Capital Fund, LLC
LPC is an institutional investor headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. LPC's experienced
professionals manage a portfolio of investments in public and
private entities. These investments are in a wide range of
companies and industries emphasizing life sciences, specialty
finance, energy and technology. LPC's investments range from
multiyear financial commitments to fund growth to special situation
financings to long-term strategic capital offering companies
flexibility and consistency. For more information, visit
www.lpcfunds.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements
about future expectations, planned and future development of RXi
Pharmaceuticals Corporation's products and technologies.
Forward-looking statements about expectations and development plans
of RXi's products involve significant risks, and uncertainties:
risks that RXi may not be able to successfully develop its
candidates, or that development of RNAi-based therapeutics may be
delayed or not proceed as planned, or that we may not develop any
RNAi-based product; risks that the development process for our
product candidates may be delayed, risks related to development and
commercialization of products by our competitors, risks related to
our ability to control timing and terms of collaborations with
third parties, risks relating to our ability to drawn down balances
under our financing facility with Lincoln
Park, and the possibility that other companies or
organizations may assert patent rights preventing us from
developing our products. Actual results may differ from those
contemplated by these forward-looking statements. RXi does not
undertake to update forward-looking statements to reflect a change
in its views, events or circumstances that occur after the date of
this release.
Contacts
RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation
Tamara McGrillen, 508-929-3646
tmcgrillen@rxipharma.com
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SOURCE RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation