ChemoCentryx Announces Credit Facility of Up to $100 Million with Hercules Capital
January 09 2020 - 8:30AM
ChemoCentryx, Inc., (NASDAQ: CCXI) today announced that the Company
has secured a credit facility of up to $100 million provided by
Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE: HTGC), a leader in customized
financing for companies in life sciences and technology-related
markets.
“Through this non-dilutive credit mechanism, we have options to
strengthen our robust balance sheet as we advance avacopan towards
commercialization in ANCA vasculitis,” said Thomas J. Schall,
Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of ChemoCentryx. “With
the secured capital on hand and anticipated milestone payments, we
are financially well-positioned to successfully commercialize
avacopan in this important and underserved disease.”
The $100 million credit facility from Hercules Capital comprises
three tranches over the next two years to be drawn at
ChemoCentryx’s discretion as follows: the first tranche of $40
million is available through December 2020, $20 million of which
would be available upon the submission of the avacopan New Drug
Application (NDA) for the treatment of ANCA vasculitis; the second
tranche of $30 million is available through December 2021 upon NDA
approval of avacopan for the treatment of ANCA vasculitis (NDA
Approval); the remaining $30 million is available through December
2022, subject to certain conditions. The term loan has a 30-month
interest-only period from initial funding, which is extendable up
to 36 months upon the achievement of certain milestones and further
extendable up to 48 months upon the achievement of additional
milestones and matures in 48 months, further extendable to 60
months upon NDA Approval. Intended use of the capital is for the
advancement of avacopan through its registration filings and
commercial launch in ANCA vasculitis, if approved. Further
information with respect to the growth capital financing agreement
with Hercules will be contained on a Form 8-K to be filed by
ChemoCentryx with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
This financing agreement is in addition to the $20 million in
financing that is currently outstanding with Hercules Capital.
"This structured investment represents yet another significant
commitment from Hercules and provides an example of the breadth of
our platform and our ability to finance life sciences companies
through development and into commercialization. We are excited to
continue our partnership with the ChemoCentryx management team,"
said Scott Bluestein, Chief Executive Officer of Hercules. "Given
the positive clinical evidence from avacopan, Hercules is pleased
to further expand its financing partnership with ChemoCentryx as it
continues to advance avacopan through regulatory submissions and
commercialization subsequent to approval, and to develop additional
product candidates," added Himani Bhalla, Principal at the Life
Sciences lending group at
Hercules.
About ChemoCentryxChemoCentryx is a
biopharmaceutical company developing new medications targeted at
inflammatory and autoimmune diseases and
cancer. ChemoCentryx targets the chemokine and
chemoattractant systems to discover, develop and commercialize
orally-administered therapies. ChemoCentryx is currently
focusing on its late stage drug candidates for patients with rare
diseases, avacopan (CCX168) and CCX140.
Avacopan is an orally-administered small molecule that is a
selective inhibitor of the complement C5a receptor, or C5aR. In the
pivotal Phase III ADVOCATE trial, avacopan demonstrated the ability
to induce vasculitis remission at 26 weeks and statistical
superiority in sustaining vasculitis remission at 52 weeks. The
topline safety results revealed an acceptable safety profile in
this serious and life-threatening disease with fewer subjects
having serious after events in the avacopan group than in the
glucocorticoid-containing standard of
care. ChemoCentryx is also developing avacopan for the
treatment of patients with C3 glomerulopathy (C3G) and hidradenitis
suppurativa (HS). The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration has granted avacopan orphan-drug designation
for ANCA-associated Vasculitis, C3G and atypical hemolytic uremic
syndrome (aHUS). The European Commission has granted
orphan medicinal product designation for avacopan for the treatment
of two forms of ANCA-associated Vasculitis: microscopic
polyangiitis and granulomatosis with polyangiitis (formerly known
as Wegener's granulomatosis), as well as for C3G.
The Company's other late stage drug candidate is CCX140, an
inhibitor of the chemokine receptor known as CCR2, which is
currently being developed for patients with focal segmental
glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), a debilitating kidney disease. The U.S.
Food and Drug Administration has granted CCX140 orphan-drug
designation for the treatment of FSGS.
ChemoCentryx's Kidney Health Alliance with Vifor
Pharma provides Vifor Pharma with exclusive rights
to commercialize avacopan and CCX140 in markets outside of the
U.S.
ChemoCentryx also has early stage drug candidates that
target chemoattractant receptors in other inflammatory and
autoimmune diseases and in cancer.
About Hercules Capital, Inc.
Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE: HTGC) is the leading and largest
specialty finance company focused on providing senior secured
venture growth loans to high-growth, innovative venture
capital-backed companies in a broad variety of technology, life
sciences and sustainable and renewable technology industries. Since
inception (December 2003), Hercules has committed more than $9.7
billion to over 480 companies and is the lender of choice for
entrepreneurs and venture capital firms seeking growth capital
financing.
Forward-Looking StatementsChemoCentryx cautions
that statements included in this press release that are not a
description of historical facts are forward-looking statements.
Words such as "may," "could," "will," "would," "should," "expect,"
"plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "intend," "predict,"
"seek," "contemplate," "potential," "continue" or "project" or the
negative of these terms or other comparable terminology are
intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements
include the Company's statements regarding the achievement of
anticipated goals and milestones, when avacopan ANCA vasculitis NDA
regulatory filing with the FDA will be submitted, whether such
filing will be validated by the FDA, whether avacopan will receive
marketing authorization by the FDA for the treatment of ANCA
vasculitis and whether avacopan will be commercialized for the
treatment of ANCA vasculitis. The inclusion of forward-looking
statements should not be regarded as a representation by
ChemoCentryx that any of its plans will be achieved. Actual results
may differ from those set forth in this release due to the risks
and uncertainties inherent in the ChemoCentryx business and other
risks described in the Company's filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Investors are cautioned not to
place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which
speak only as of the date hereof, and ChemoCentryx undertakes no
obligation to revise or update this news release to reflect events
or circumstances after the date hereof. Further information
regarding these and other risks is included under the heading "Risk
Factors" in ChemoCentryx's periodic reports filed with the SEC,
including ChemoCentryx's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the
SEC on March 11, 2019 and its other reports which are available
from the SEC's website (www.sec.gov) and on ChemoCentryx's website
(www.chemocentryx.com) under the heading "Investors." All
forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this
cautionary statement. This caution is made under the safe harbor
provisions of Section 21E of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995.
ChemoCentryx Contacts:Susan M. KanayaExecutive
Vice President,Chief Financial and Administrative
Officerinvestor@chemocentryx.com
Media: Stephanie
Tomei408.234.1279media@chemocentryx.comInvestors:William Slattery,
Jr., Burns
McClellan212.213.0006
bslattery@burnsmc.com
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